


Form 5763W

by thievinghippo



Series: Wynneth Hindemith - swtor [1]
Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: F/M, wedding fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-20
Updated: 2017-03-20
Packaged: 2018-09-25 17:47:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 36,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9835466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thievinghippo/pseuds/thievinghippo
Summary: Jorgan and Wynneth hoped for a quiet wedding. But when the political realities of the ceremony come to light, things become real complicated, real quick.





	1. The Fall

“Think you can beat me, rookie?” Jorgan asked as he pulled back his ankle to stretch his hamstring. His body felt nice and loose, just ready for the five kilometer run he and Wynneth made time for this morning. A slight breeze fluttered against his fur while clouds blocked the sun overhead.

After three years of reporting to Coruscant, Jorgan could honestly say he didn’t like the place. Too many buildings, too many people, basically too many of everything. But at least there are some parks hidden away, far from the gang-ridden streets. Just the place to go for a jog, breathing real air instead of the recycled atmosphere of the _Thunderclap._

Next to him, Wynneth scowled, probably trying to hide a smile, just the sort of reaction he expected. “That’s Major Rookie to you, Captain,” she said as she hit him lightly on the stomach. “Have some respect for your commanding officer.”

Jorgan took a step closer, so their bodies almost touched, but not quite. This early in the morning, the park was deserted, so he snaked his hand around Wynneth’s waist to rest on her ass. “Respected you plenty last night, if I recall right,” he said, letting a hint of a smirk creep into his voice. And just like that, his mind didn’t want to think about the run ahead of them, just after the fact, when she would be flush and sweaty, and he wondered how quickly they could make it back to the ship once they finished their run.

Her scowl disappeared, leaving only traces of a smile on her lips. “And I do believe I respected you right back,” Wynneth said, moving just forward enough so that her breasts, even bound with a combat ready sports bra, pushed up against his chest. Stars, he wanted to go back to the ship this very second and do some respecting right now.

Instead, Jorgan titled his head down and kissed his betrothed hard on the mouth. Betrothed. Even after being engaged for almost six months, it still sometimes felt like a dream. Getting demoted to sergeant in the army three years ago should have been the worst thing to ever happen to him. At the time, it had certainly seemed like that. But since then? Between becoming the XO of Havoc squad and falling in love with its commander, Jorgan couldn’t ask for anything more out of life.

And hopefully soon, once the galaxy settled down a bit, he and Wynneth would officially become life-mates. Husband and wife. Truth was, Jorgan didn’t care what they called it, just as long as the end result was the same: the two of them spending the rest of their lives together.

He started to deepen the kiss, slipping his tongue in Wynneth’s mouth, but a moment later, she circled out of his arms and started sprinting down the path. It took only a couple of seconds for Jorgan to react, but by then she already had a lead. Well, human legs were no match for Cathar sprinting, and before long, Jorgan caught up and matched her pace. While he could easily out-sprint her, humans did have an edge when it came to distance.

“That was low,” Jorgan said with a chuckle. His breathing was still measured, even as they jogged side by side.

“Maybe a little,” Wynneth said as she shrugged her shoulders. “Don’t tell me you didn’t deserve it, though.”

“Yeah, yeah, maybe a little,” Jorgan said.

The talking stopped, as neither one of them particularly enjoyed holding a conversation while they ran. One of the main reasons he enjoyed running with Wynneth, instead of just going out on his own. So instead of talking, Jorgan enjoyed the breeze while breaking down their recent mission to Ilum in his head. Plenty to think about from that mission, that was for sure.

Once they made it more than a little half way, Wynneth suddenly started limping off of the running path. “Kriff,” she said through clenched teeth. “ _Kriff._ _”_

Jorgan stopped, jogging in place. “Talk to me, Winnie.”

Her face scrunched up in pain as she went to lay on the ground, slightly behind a bush, bringing one knee to her chest. “Cramp. Thigh.”

“You really got to ease up on the caf,” Jorgan said, moving to kneel next to her. While she lay on her back, he lifted her left leg up straight in the air. As he started to lightly push her thigh towards her chest, he added, “Say when.”

Wynneth’s eyes were shut tight as Jorgan helped stretch out her quad. “Getting there,” she said, even as he could still hear pain in her voice.

With the palm of his free hand, he started rubbing large circles on the back of her thigh. “Doing okay, babe?” Jorgan asked. She nodded at once, and he could see some of the pain had left her face. “How many times have you said you’re gonna drink more water before we run?”

“Not my fault,” Wynneth said, her eyes opening as she took a breath. “Forex bought me a mint caf creamer. It was really fucking good.”

“Worth a cramp, though?”

Her eyes drifted lower, to where his hand was rubbing her thigh near her ass. “Right now I’m not seeing any downfall.”

“Woman,” Jorgan said, shaking his head. They were in a public park where anyone could see them, the last thing he should do is lean down and kiss her. His resolve, though, lasted all of three seconds, before he settled down on the grass next to her, on his side. “We really shouldn’t.”

Her arms snaked around his neck as she kissed him lightly. “Nothing wrong with a kiss,” she said, sounding a bit breathless.

He thought to respond, but all he wanted to concentrate on was the way her lips felt against his. So instead he stopped worrying and kissed her. And kissed her again. Jorgan’s palm rested on her bare stomach, thanks to her t-shirt inching up. All he needed to do was slide his fingers down her running shorts, just a little bit, and maybe they could have some real fun. The greenery hid them a bit, right? Maybe just enough to-

A sudden flash and a click broke them apart. A holorecorder floated next to them and Jorgan raised his hand so that the only thing the recorder could see was his palm. A second later, it floated away. Jorgan and Wynneth both sat up, fixing themselves up as they did.

Jorgan looked around for the owner of the holorecorder but couldn’t see anyone in the vicinity. “Think whoever took that recognized us?” he asked in a low voice.

Biting her lip, Wynneth shook her head. “Average citizens don’t recognize us when we’re not in uniform,” she said, but Jorgan could tell by the slight waver in her voice that she worried.

A worry he shared. Their relationship, as far as he was concerned, was private. They could name the number of people who knew they were a couple on both of their hands: the rest of Havoc, General Garza, his parents and littermates, her parents and half-brothers. Jonas Balkar figured it out when they all had a celebration drink after Corellia. But as far as Jorgan knew, the rest of the galaxy had no idea that the Commander and Executive Officer of Havoc Squad were in a relationship, which was just the way he liked it.

“Someone just getting their kicks, maybe,” Jorgan said as he stood up, more to convince himself than Wynneth. Facial recognition software would easily point out to the recorder who they were.

“Maybe,” Wynneth said, holding out her hand. He helped her up off of the ground and they both started stretching.

“Let’s finish this run and get back to the ship,” Jorgan said, tapping Wynneth’s ass. “No use worrying about it.”

“Agreed,” Wynneth said.

And without another word, she took off, and Jorgan followed.

#

“Sir! I wanted to inform you that a display of affection you and the major recently shared has been deemed worthy of publication on the holonet.”

Kriff. _Kriff._

Jorgan took a breath and tried to keep his heartbeat under control. He clenched and unclenched his fists as he kept himself from squirming in his chair. “Lemme see,” he asked Forex, holding out his hand.

The entrance of the galley was too small for Forex to squeeze through, so the droid reached out and handed Jorgan a holopad. Right there on the top of the ‘Coruscant Daily News’ was a picture from this morning, with them both laying on the ground kissing. The headline, reading “Playing Favorites?” made Jorgan sick to his stomach.

“Fuck,” he whispered. This was bad. This was really, really bad. He skimmed the article, more than one pundit wondered if Wynneth and Jorgan were breaking any laws, if Wynneth was flouting her authority, if Jorgan slept his way to the position of Executive Officer.

Checking the timestamp, he saw that the article was only posted three minutes ago. Maybe they had some time to do damage control. Jorgan stood, wondering just how in stars’ name he would tell Wynneth. Best just to show her.

“Thanks, Forex,” he said, standing up. “Do me a favor, keep an eye on this story, will you? See who else picks it up, that sort of thing.”

“Of course, sir,” Forex said, spreading its arms. “I will keep a tally to see which news outlets think your private relationship with the commander should be made public.”

Jorgan nodded, not wanting to say anything else, not when his stomach was tried up in knots. This couldn’t be happening. Not now, not when everything seemed to be going smoothly for once in the three years they’ve been with Havoc. And now thanks to their damn libidos, the entire galaxy saw them kissing in a park.

Wynneth sat in the conference room table, a couple of holopads scattered in front of her, as she munched on a protein bar. Might as will rip off the bandage. “Here,” Jorgan said, holding out the holopad with their picture on it. “We’ve got a problem, Winnie.”

She took the pad, and looked at the contents, her eyes widening. “Kriff,” she muttered under her breath.

“Thought the same thing,” Jorgan said, turning a chair backwards so he could sit down. Resting his arms on the back of the chair, he asked, “What do we do?”

“Illegal?” Wynneth asked, anger lacing her voice, as she read the article. She looked up. “But it’s not. We filled out that damn form, the 3578K form.” She threw the pad down on the table and sighed. “We’re going to have to make a statement.”

Jorgan rolled his head back. That probably would be the best thing to do. “How in the elders’ name do we figure out how to write a statement about our relationship?” It would have to be clear and precise, letting the galaxy know that no Republic laws had been broken, but try to give absolutely no more information than that. The galaxy had already seen them kiss. The galaxy didn’t get any more than that, damn it.

“I’ll write it now,” Wynneth said and Jorgan could see just a little more weight on her shoulders, thanks to this. Probably showed on his shoulders as well. “I’ll send it to Garza and then we’ll send out a press release.”

He reached out, taking one of her hands in him, rubbing his thumb against her palm. “Should we mention we’re getting married?”

Wynneth’s lips pursed slightly as she shook her head. “Let’s not. We can make an announcement afterward. If we tell people, we’re going to get hounded every day with reporters asking when and where the wedding is.”

Two questions Jorgan wouldn’t mind getting an answer to himself. Beyond deciding to wed, neither one of them seemed all that rushed to figure out the details. But after this, it seemed like a good idea to make some concrete plans. Deciding to speak, he cleared his throat. “Speaking of when and where…”

She squeezed his hand. “I’m thinking soon right about now. You?”

“Soon is good,” Jorgan said, scooting his chair a little closer to Wynneth. “I like soon.”

They were close enough now where Jorgan only had to lean a little bit forward and he could press his lips against hers. If the whole damn galaxy knew they were together, why bother hiding anymore. He leaned forward, but Wynneth sat back in her chair with a meaningful look at the open conference room door. So he squeezed her hand and stood up, ready to go back and finish the dinner he left in the galley. “You mind showing me a copy of what you write before you send it to Garza?”

“Sure thing,” Wynneth said, picking up a holopad. “Just an FYI, I’m going to make it dry as Tatooine. Not giving them any more information than they need to know.”

“That’s my girl,” Jorgan said.

He gave her a nod and headed out of the conference room. The galley wasn’t empty when he arrived; Dorne stood by the caf distiller, tapping a foot impatiently. When she noticed his arrival, she said, “Forex told me about the picture. I’m sorry you’re having to go through that.”

“Our own damn fault,” Jorgan said, sitting back down to his dinner. “We should have figured someone would be tailing us.”

“Still, it seems like a gross invasion of privacy,” Dorne said, and Jorgan couldn’t help but agree. “I did wonder, sir, if this meant you might be needing form 5763W any time soon.”

Jorgan ran his palm over his head. “We already filled out a form,” he said, poking at his unfinished food with his fork. His appetite seemed to have disappeared.

“The 3578K form, yes. That’s the form that allows you to pursue a mutual romantic relationship. But what I’m inquiring about is form 5763W, which, if approved, allows two members of the Republic Army to apply for a marriage license.”

His fork dropped from his hand, clattering on the metal plate. “So you’re telling me that we have to fill out a form so we can fill out another form in order to get married?”

“That is correct, I’m afraid,” Dorne said. “If today’s incident speeds up your time table, it would behoove you to start procuring the form as quickly as possible. I’ve heard there’s a bit of work involved.”

Jorgan thought about Cathar weddings. Two people show up at the temple, cover their heads with the sacred cloths, then say a few words in front of the Elders. Not a form to be seen for days. But if the Republic Army needed this damn form filled out, they would fill it out. Thinking of Cathar customs made him a bit uneasy, though. That’s one conversation they hadn’t had yet: what marriage for the Cathar actually meant. As much as he would like to take their vows in front of the Elders, he didn’t want to push for something Wynneth might not be able to give. He knew some humans treated marriage as almost a disposable part of their lives. Look at Garza, with three husbands in her past. He couldn’t imagine doing that. Not ever. It would be all or nothing for him, but he just hadn’t figured out the words to find out if their future marriage would be all or nothing for Wynneth too.

“Thanks, Elara,” Jorgan said, picking up his fork again. The food was cold, but that never bothered him. What bothered him was the idea that they’d have to work to get this damn form. They could figure it out later. First, they needed to deal with the unmasking of their relationship.

But Jorgan decided not to worry about it. Together, he and Wynneth had taken down the original Havoc traitors, destroyed the Gauntlet superweapon, and captured General Rakton. How hard could dealing with the press and filling out a form really be?


	2. Speak to Me

“Captain, did you sleep your way to the XO spot?”

“Did she order you to be in a relationship with her?”

“How does your relationship affect the rest of Havoc squad?”

She should have known. Wynneth marched down the steps of the _Thunderclap,_ Aric right behind her, into the docking bay, full of reporters. Enough holocameras flashed to give her a headache, making her worry that her cybernetics keeping anti-seizure meds constantly in her bloodstream, wouldn’t be enough to shield her. The effect was worsened by the number of reporters yelling out questions to her and Aric. “No comment,” Wynneth snapped. Usually she had a decent relationship with the press. While she might be bit shy, the Army had given her extra public speaking lessons once she became the leader of Havoc Squad. She would never have the easy presence of some of the former leaders of Havoc, like Harrod Tavus or Jace Malcom, but she could hold her own in a one on one interview. But a huge crowd like this? Wynneth wanted to fall through the floor and never stop falling.

“We’ll be releasing a statement later today,” Aric said, anger lacing his voice. Of all the times for Garza to call them into her office. Wynneth tried to argue for a holocall, but Garza insisted. Couldn’t be seen hiding, Garza said. Well, Garza could take her office and shove it as far as Wynneth was concerned.

The worst part was she couldn’t reach out for Aric. She couldn’t hold his hand or whisper something encouraging in his ear. The press would eat that up, and they’d never hear the end of it. All Wynneth could do was stare straight ahead and hope that the reporters have the decency not to follow them onto the elevator.

Thankfully, none of the press moved to join them on the elevator. The moment the doors closed, leaving them alone, Aric reached out and grabbed her hand. Wynneth laced their fingers together, wishing he hadn’t put on gloves this morning. Both wore their Republic Army service uniforms, the dull brown color not flattering to either one of them. Wynneth’s hands were bare, but Aric wore a thin pair of cotton gloves. Most Cathar in the Army did, he had told her once.

“How are our personal lives so interesting to the rest of the galaxy?” Wynneth asked, not bothering to hide the sigh in her voice. She didn’t expect Aric to answer, but just saying the words made her feel a little better. “It’s not that we even have all that exciting of a relationship, if you look at it from the outside. We fight side by side, support each other, and have sex. Why is that such a big deal?”

“I think you mean really good sex,” Aric said seriously.

She cracked a smile at that, and swatted him on the stomach. “Great sex. You know what I mean, though. To me, what we have is basically perfect, but I’ve got to imagine to anyone else, it must look boring.”

“They story will die down in a few days,” Aric said, not sounding entirely convinced. “There hasn’t been a new theatre in the war opened in a while. Something will happen and they’ll leave us alone.”

“Did you just hope for a new military offensive to get the reporters off our back?”

The elevator stopped, and they dropped hands right before the doors opened. Wynneth’s hope that the reporters might not follow them was optimistic. They must have taken the stairs. The walk from the docking bay to the front of the spaceport was awful. The reporters kept asking questions, one more crude than the next, and Wynneth and Aric kept saying _no comment._

Just as dread pooled in Wynneth’s stomach, wondering how they would last through the long walk to the Senate Tower, where the press mercifully couldn’t waltz in without a pass, salvation arrived in the form of Lieutenant Mai, General Garza’s assistant, in a hovercart. She waved them over and Wynneth decided she had never been so happy to see anyone in her life.

“Garza worried this would happen,” Mai said as Wynneth and Aric climbed into the cart. “You two are all anyone has talked about for the last twelve hours.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant,” Wynneth said. The hovercart started moving towards the Senate Tower at a brisk pace. “Can’t tell you how glad I am to be away from those locusts.”

“Always happy to get out of the office,” Mai said cheerfully as she swerved around some tourists. “I love driving this thing.”

Aric’s face seemed to have been stuck in a permanent scowl since they stepped off of the _Thunderclap._ “Never thought I’d see a day were my personal life was more interesting than my professional accomplishments.”

Wynneth started to move her hand to squeeze his knee, but thought the better of it. Even if they had outrun the press, holocameras were everywhere. Adding fuel to the fire seemed like a bad idea at the moment. So she settled for bumping her shoulder deliberately against his. “Your professional accomplishments speak for themselves, Aric. You earned that XO spot.”

And he did. They didn’t flirt for the first time until right after she named him to the spot. Then as they worked to destroy the Gauntlet superweapon, almost a year of long looks and lingering touches passed before she goaded Aric into kissing her.

“I know,” Aric said, looking over at her, before bumping his shoulder back against hers.

“Here we are,” Mai said as they arrived to the front entrance of the Senate Tower. “This is as far as I can take you.” As Wynneth and Jorgan hopped out of the cart, Mai added, “Hope you don’t run into any senators. I’ve heard there’s already talk about an inquiry.”

With those words, Mai sped off, leaving them to deal with the fallout of her words. “Inquiry? We filled out the damn form,” Wynneth said, taking a breath to try to steady herself. “We haven’t done anything wrong.”

“Yeah, but when do politicians care about any of that?” Aric spat. “Come on, let’s get to Garza. Sooner we release the statement, the sooner we can put this behind us.”

Thankfully no politicians stopped them as they walked through the Tower to Garza’s office. Though they did get more than one glare or sly smile. Wynneth tried to ignore them all, but the idea that all of Coruscant, and probably most of the galaxy wondered about hers and Aric’s sex life made her uneasy. More than uneasy.

General Garza sat at her desk, reading glasses on the top of her head, as they walked into the office. “About time you two made it here,” she said, standing up, and splaying her hands across the desk. “It appears we have a great deal to discuss.”

“Yes, sir,” Wynneth said, handing Garza a holopad. “Here’s the statement we wrote.”

Garza read aloud from the pad. “The romantic relationship between Major Wynneth Hindemith and Captain Aric Jorgan is completely consensual between the pair. The two filed all appropriate paperwork and received approval to pursue the relationship by the Republic Army. They ask for privacy so they can concentrate on what’s important: defeating the Empire.” Garza dropped the holopad onto the desk. “You’re never getting privacy again. I hope you realize that.”

Wynneth sat down on one of the chairs in front of Garza’s desk. “I figured that much during the spectacle that waited for us outside the _Thunderclap._ _”_

“You’re all the gossip pages are going to talk about for weeks. They’re going to ponder every look you give each other, every decision you make from here on out,” Garza said, sitting back down in her chair. “You might as well get used to it.”

“There’s no getting used to what circus,” Aric said, his voice bitter, as he sat down next to Wynneth. “Guess we’ll just have to hope it dies down once we’re married.”

Garza’s eyebrows shot up at once. “Married?” she asked, sounding incredulous. “Did I hear that right? You plan on doing what?”

Wynneth looked over at Aric, who looked just as confused as she felt. “We’ve really only mentioned it to the rest of Havoc, but we plan on getting married. Soon, once we can deal with the paperwork.”

No one said anything for a moment, and Wynneth could just tell that Garza’s silence was not what they wanted right now. But then Garza looked up, right at Aric, and said, “Captain, you’re dismissed. I need to speak to the Major alone.”

“Excuse me, sir?” Aric asked tentatively. Wynneth wanted to say something, that anything Garza had to say to her could be said to Aric, but part of her wondered if this was a test of some sort. If it was, Wynneth had every plan on passing.

“You heard me, Captain. You’re dismissed,” Garza said, folding her hands in front of her. “As I’m fairly certain the Major here will fill you in on our conversation, you don’t need to be here for it. Now get going.”

Aric stood up slowly, meeting her eye. Wynneth mouthed, “It’s okay,” which was absolutely the wrong thing to do.

“Yes, it is okay, because I’m the one in charge here, and Captain Jorgan, why are you still here in my office?”

Without wasting a second, Aric snapped off a salute, and turned on his heel, practically jogging out of Garza’s office. Once the door behind them could be heard closing, Wynneth felt Garza’s direct attention and tried not to squirm. “Have you lost your fucking mind?” Garza asked.

Talking back to a superior officer was never a good idea, Wynneth reminded herself as she gritted her teeth. Best to stick with the facts. “I love him. He loves me. We want to get married.”

Garza rested her elbows on her desk, burying her head in her hands. “Fuck him all you want, Major, but don’t marry him.”

Wynneth crossed her arms over her chest, trying to keep her temper under control. Garza had no right, no right at all, to tell her how to live her life. Yet at the same time, as much as she wanted to tell Garza that their future marriage was none of her business, it absolutely was Garza’s business. The general needed to make sure her SpecForce squads were in good shape, and a marriage between Wynneth and Aric would change the core of Havoc Squad. So Wynneth decided to ask a simple question. “Why? You had two husbands involved in the Army.”

“Not the third. The third wasn’t even close to military,” Garza said with a rueful smile. “But we’re not talking about me, Major. My husbands weren’t in my direct line of command. There were strict separations.” Leaning forward, Garza asked, “Do you really think you could order your husband to his death if the mission called for it?”

And that there was Wynneth’s worst fear. Not that Aric would die, they all would die sometime, but that his death would be because of _her._ “I’ve ordered soldiers to their deaths before,” Wynneth said, and even she was disgusted at the weakness in her voice. She took a breath and reminded herself that the Republic was bigger than both her and Aric. She would gladly die for the Republic and knew he would, too. “It’s a situation I don’t even want to think about, General, but I would be able to do it.”

Drumming her fingers on the desk, Garza said, “Maybe you could. But I don’t like this. I don’t like this at all. You’re lucky I’m not the one who will approve your 5763W form, because I would absolutely deny your request.” Garza shook her head. “Look, I understand what it’s like to fall for someone when you work with them day after day. That’s what happened with my first husband. When our lives weren’t on the line all the time, we realized there was nothing between us but sex. And the sex wasn’t even all that good, to be honest.”

That was a picture Wynneth didn’t need in her head. She had met Garza’s first husband, Marcus Trant, the director of the SIS, only a handful of times. Now she would never be able to look at the man again without thinking of him with Garza. “It’s more than just sex,” Wynneth said softly.

She wished she had the words to describe just how important Aric had become to her. How they could talk about anything, from inconsequential things like weapon mods to the future of the Republic and what it would take to win the war once and for all. He challenged her, wanting to know her thought process behind the decisions she made in the field, and behind closed doors, letting her know if and then why he disagreed. She hadn’t expected him to be as affectionate as he was. When they were alone, their fingers were almost always intertwined or he’d have a hand on her waist or her knee. And yes, there was sex, pretty damn amazing sex. But it wouldn’t matter to her if the sex was awful. Wynneth would still love him because he made her a better person.

“I can see I’m not going to talk you out of this,” Garza said, her voice cold. “Stay with him if you want, but do you really need to get married?”

“Aric proposed, General,” Wynneth said. “A Cathar wouldn’t have done that lightly.”

“I just can’t help thinking you’re making a mistake, Major. But it’s your life. No one could have talked me out of marrying Trant all those years ago,” Garza said. “I’ll hope for your sake and the sake of the Republic that it works out.”

One hurdle down. “Thank you,” Wynneth said, feeling a bit of tension leaving her shoulders.

“I’ll have PR send our your statement this afternoon. Maybe then poor Mai won’t be inundated with holocalls wanting a statement from me,” Garza said. “Do you have any other surprises up your sleeve?”

Wynneth shook her head. “No, ma’am. But I did have a question. If we don’t submit the 5763W form to you, who do we submit it to?” she asked, curious to know the answer. The form they filled out to officially be a couple, the 3578K, had been approved by Garza.

“I can’t be involved since you both report to me. You’ll have to fine another general,” Garza said. “Needs to be someone at least two ranks higher. Be grateful we haven’t promoted you to Colonel yet. You might never be able to get married then.”

Her stomach twisted at the thought. They already had promoted her far too quickly as far as she was concerned. From Sergeant to Major in just over three years? That wasn’t normal career progression. But she would work with what she had.

“Thank you, General,” Wynneth said. At the sour look on Garza’s face, she decided to be generous. “I really do appreciate you taking the time to talk with me.”

“Sure you do,” Garza said, leaning back in her chair. “And just so we’re clear, I may not approve, but I do expect an invitation to your wedding.”

Wynneth let out a laugh without thinking. “Done. You’ll be first on the guest list.”

“Good. You can meet potential husband number four,” Garza said, not sounding nearly as tense as she did moments ago. “Dismissed, Major.”

Not needing to be told twice, Wynneth stood up and saluted. She walked out of the office, with a quick nod to Lieutenant Mai, to find Aric leaning against the wall across from Garza’s office. The moment he saw her, Aric straightened up, and she could tell just from his eyes that he worried.

“Everything okay?” he asked quietly.

Letting out a breath, Wynneth nodded. A quick glance left and right showed they were alone in the hallway, so she squeezed his hand. “Everything’s fine,” she said. “Promise. But now we need to go and find ourselves a general.”


	3. It Comes Back to You

“Told you I’d wake you up,” Jorgan said, kissing the back of Wynneth’s neck. Nothing started the day better than an orgasm.

She stretched out underneath him, intertwining their fingers. “Don’t sound so smug,” she said. Her voice might be still groggy from sleep, but he heard the smile behind the words. “I’m not awake yet.”

Jorgan rolled off of her and lay on his back, one hand behind his head, the other resting on Wynneth’s ass. Even with sex, it still took her a ridiculous time to get out of bed in the morning. If he had one annoyance with his betrothed, that was it. He just didn’t understand it. For Jorgan, the alarm goes off, he wakes up. End of story. But considering they didn’t have any meetings today and would probably spend most of the day doing paperwork, he supposed it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the galaxy to stay in bed for a little longer.

His holopad sat on the nightstand and instead of waiting for Wynneth to start the day, Jorgan picked it up and checked for messages. The message program told him he had fifty-seven requests for comment from the press. Without a second thought he deleted everyone of them, leaving only a few that he might actually care about.

One caught his attention right away. “Babe, a buddy of mine just got back to me about the form,” Jorgan said, tapping Wynneth’s ass. She stirred, moving on to her side, giving him a beautiful view of her breasts. He gave himself a moment to admire her - really, it would be rude not to - before going back to the message. “He and his husband are both army.”

“Yeah?” she asked, propping herself up on an elbow. “What’s he say?”

Jorgan skimmed the message again, a sinking feeling settling in his gut. “That it’s a pain in the ass. He was just a sergeant and his husband a non-com. And _they_ had trouble getting approval.”

Wynneth flopped onto her back. “And this day started out so well, too,” she said with a sigh. “They really don’t want officers getting married, do they?”

“Doesn’t look like it,” Jorgan said, reaching out to run his fingers through Wynneth’s hair. He came across a few tangles; he’d have to grab a brush once they actually got out of bed. “Says he had to do a favor for the officer who finally ended up approving the form. Says it’s all pay for play.”

“I don’t like owing favors,” Wynneth said, her lips curling up into a scowl. “This sucks.” She grabbed one of her pillows and put it over her face. A couple of seconds later, Jorgan saw her peek out from below. “Let’s just get married in secret and never tell anyone.”

His pulse started racing a bit, realizing this was the perfect chance to bring up the wedding ceremonies. He felt his body still, almost felt like he had a sniper rifle in his hands and a target in his sights. There was nothing to worry about, he tried to remind himself. Wynneth loved him, he was sure of that as he was sure he loved her. Yet his stomach still tangled in knots at the thought of telling her what he wanted.

And saying their vows in front of the Elders _was_ what he wanted. What he wanted more than anything. A non-Cathar saying the vows was rare, but they were allowed. But Jorgan would never say those vows unless he understood what they would mean to Wynneth. If she thought marriage could be temporary like most humans, they could get married by a protocol droid instead.

“Got real quiet there,” Wynneth said as she ran her fingers over his stomach. Her touch calmed him, gave his overeager brain a chance to rest while he put down his holopad on the nightstand.

Jorgan turned on his side so they were facing each other. As gently as he could, he traced her cybernetics above her right eye with the pad of his fingertip. He noticed a little skin irritation, but not enough to worry about. “We keep saying we’re going to get married,” he said, suddenly very interested in the hollow of her throat, and the way the necklace he gave her almost two years ago lay across her neck. “But we haven’t really talked about specifics.”

“True,” Wynneth said, biting her lower lip. “I don’t want a big ceremony. I’d really prefer something quiet.”

“Same,” Jorgan agreed at once. He’d been to a couple of human weddings over the years and the sheer amount of pageantry practically overwhelmed him. But that still wasn’t quite what he wanted to know. “I guess it’s more our marriage I’m curious about, not the wedding.”

Wynneth scooted forward a bit, enough so he could take comfort as she pressed herself against him. “What do you mean?” she asked, her voice light.

“A Cathar marries for life,” he said, resting his hand on her hips.

“So do humans,” she said as she pressed her lips against his jaw.

“No offense to your people, Winnie, but they don’t,” Jorgan said. “There’s divorce, people get remarried all the time. The Cathar… We don’t even have a word for divorce in our language. When we marry, that’s it.” He took a breath, not even wanting to think about certain possibilities, but they had to be said. “Elders forbid something happens to you, I will never marry again, I will never date again, I won’t ever even be with anyone again.”

His body felt lighter, finally saying those words out loud. He should have brought this up months ago, but something kept holding him back. And now that he has, he couldn’t remember why he felt he couldn’t say anything. Jorgan searched Wynneth’s face for some sort of sign, some sort of signal about how she felt.

“Aric,” she said quietly, “I know.” Wynneth pushed herself up into a sitting position, legs curled under her. “Before you proposed, I searched the ‘net a bit.” Jorgan closed his eyes as her nails raked the back of his head and willed himself not to speak until she told him what she learned. “I wouldn’t have said yes unless I was willing to honor that same commitment as you.”

Jorgan moved forward, resting his head on her lap as he wrapped his arms around her hips. He wished he could find better words to describe how he felt at this moment besides content. The soft skin of her thighs was too inviting, so he pressed his lips against her thigh. “If you ever decided you wanted to leave our marriage, I would sign whatever you throw at me, just so you know. It would just mean something different for you than it would for me,” he said, not even really wanting to think about that. But he wanted to make sure she knew the possibility was there, if she wanted it.

“Look, I know I can’t predict the future,” Wynneth said as she ran her hands down his arms, “but I’d like to think that’s not going to be an issue. And if it was, I wouldn’t insult you by asking for a divorce. We would just live separate lives.” He felt her lips press against his head, giving him every excuse to hold her a little tighter. “For the record, if that ever happened, I wouldn’t remarry or date or sleep with anyone else, either.”

He sat up, wanting to look at his future wife. Her face was slightly flushed and her lips just a little swollen. She was perfect. “Since that’s how you feel, it would mean a lot to me, Winnie, to say our vows in front of the Elders on Rendili.”

Their fingers laced together, and Jorgan wasn’t even sure who had moved first. Wynneth smiled, almost shyly. “Then let’s get married in front of the Elders.”

“Yeah?” Jorgan said. He kissed her hard on the lips, hugging her tightly.

“Yeah,” she said almost in a whisper, her lips brushing his neck as she spoke. She sat up and straddled his lap, resting her arms on his shoulders. “I like the idea that it will be just you and me, especially after all this craziness. Hopefully we can keep things quiet enough so the press doesn’t catch on.”

“I think we can manage that,” Jorgan said, his heart ready to overflow. They would say the same words countless other of Cathar had said over the years. And then they would be lifemates. Forever. He was the luckiest bastard alive.

Suddenly Jorgan was _very_ aware that Wynneth was pressing her hips down into his. “I think this calls for a bit of celebration,” she said. As they started kissing, he couldn’t help but agree.

#

“I’m sorry,” General Skylast said, as he folded his hands in front of him. “I wish I could help, I really do. But I can’t approve the form.”

Jorgan dug his fingers into the palm of his hands, trying desperately not to tell the General off. He and Wynneth agreed that she would do the talking, seeing as she was the superior officer. Throwing in his two credits would only complicate things, even if it would feel really damn good.

“General, are you forgetting what we did for you on Belsavis?” Wynneth asked, sounding just as annoyed as Jorgan felt. Good. “We took down the World Razer.”

“Which the Galactic Republic is very grateful for, believe me,” Skylast said. The condensation in the general’s voice made Jorgan want to punch him right in the mug. “But when it comes to this form, I’m not able to approve it.”

“Fine,” Wynneth snapped, standing up. “We’ll find someone else. Thank you for your time, General.”

Wynneth practically stomped out of the room and Jorgan followed closely behind, trying not to lose hope after yet another General refused to approve the 5763W form. She led them down one of the many small hallways in the Republic Army wing of the Senate Tower. Whoever designed this building was a masochist.

“That’s four - _four_ \- generals to turn us down,” Wynneth said. She looked so despondent that if they weren’t in the middle of the Senate Tower, Jorgan would put his arms around her. “What are we doing wrong?”

It didn’t make any sense. None of the generals they talked to were involved in Special Forces in any way, so how did their marriage affect them? “I hate to say this, Winnie, but maybe we need to take my buddy’s advice. Bring up owing a favor when we talk to them.” The idea made his fur stand up on end, owing someone a favor just so they could get married. But now that they agreed that they’d be wed in front of the Elders, Jorgan couldn’t wait to get married, wanted to be married yesterday, really.

“You’re probably right,” Wynneth said with a sigh. “I just- Alright. Who’s next on the list?”

“There you are!” Jorgan turned at the sound Lieutenant Mai’s voice as she jogged down the hall. “I’ve been looking for you since I heard from General Var Suthra’s assistant.”

“Mai?” Wynneth asked. “Everything okay?”

Mai looked slightly out of breath as she stood next to them. “I’ve been messaging all the other general’s assistants all morning, trying to see what’s going on. Like, you’re _Havoc Squad_. Why would any general turn you down? We think we figured it out, though.”

“Don’t keep us in suspense,” Jorgan said, balancing on the balls of his feet, practically ready to pounce.

“It’s General Vander,” Mai said, clasping her hands behind her back. Jorgan and Wynneth shared a look. General Vander? It had been years since Jorgan turned down the promotion Vander offered. Bad blood over that? He doubted it; he served with Vander for almost two years. The man wouldn’t hold a grudge like that. “He’s talked to all of the other generals on Coruscant, asked them to refuse to sign your form.”

“But why?” Wynneth asked. “What did we ever do to him?”

Mai’s cheeks turned a darker shade of green. “I don’t think it’s like that. I think he wants something in return for him signing the form.”

“Of course he does,” Jorgan said, shaking his head.  The venom in his voice surprised even him. “I thought he was better than dealing with petty schemes. Guess I was wrong.”

“Easy there, killer,” Wynneth said, putting a hand on his arm. “Aren’t you the one who told me once it’s better to work with the system than against it? Let’s go talk to the man.”

Hands on his hips, Jorgan took a breath, remembering Hoth and that bastard Senior Agent Zane. [deadeye] and [deadeye] deserved better. But she was right. He did say that. Still meant it, too. “Fine,” he said. “We’ll talk to him.”

“Mai, you’ll be getting a really nice Life Day present from us this year, promise,” Wynneth said. “And thank those other assistants, too.”

“We have an office pool that could always use donations,” Mai said with a quick smile. “Or just invite me to your wedding and we’ll call it even. That’s going to be an _amazing_ event.”

Wynneth met his eye and looked distinctly uncomfortable. Jorgan guessed he looked the same. “We, um, haven’t figured out the details yet,” she said. “We’ll let you know.”

“Thanks!” Mai said, practically bouncing on her feet. “Well, I need to get back to Garza. You know how she is.” Without another word, she turned and walked briskly away.

“Garza expects an invitation to our wedding, too,” Wynneth said with a sigh. “And my mom… Maybe we should host a dinner or something after we’re back from Rendili?" 

Jorgan ran his hand down his face. This was getting complicated. But these were complications they could deal with later. For now, he wanted to focus on the task ahead of them: talking to General Vander.

#

“Captain. Major.” General Vander said gravely as they walked into his office. “It’s good to see you both again. Please, have a seat.”

“Likewise, sir,” Jorgan said, doing his best to keep his voice relaxed and easy when he felt anything but. Since Jorgan had worked with Vander for the longest, he and Wynneth decided that he would do the talking. They both sat down, facing the general as Vander leaned back in his chair behind a overly large desk. No one needed a work space that big. “My guess is you’ve heard the scuttlebutt.”

Vander nodded, steepling his fingers together. “I won’t insult either of you by dancing around the subject. I called in a few favors to make sure that I was the only one who would be willing to sign your form.”

Jorgan tensed and next to him, Wynneth grasped the arms of her chair. “With all due respect, General,” Jogan said through clenched teeth. “Why?”

“Because I need a favor from Havoc Squad,” Vander said, his shoulders slumping slightly. “Jorgan, do you remember my son, Blaise?”

A fresh faced kid came to mind. Maybe not a kid; Jorgan wasn’t good at figuring out the ages of non-Cathar. He remembered the kid had hung around the base at Fort Granik, saying he couldn’t wait to join the army like his father. “Vaguely,” he said. “It’s been a while. He ever join the army?”

Vander looked down at this desk and his whole body seemed to sigh. “No, he discovered spice instead.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, sir,” Jorgan said, trying to figure out how this would involve Havoc.

“I’ll try to be brief. He joined a gang that operates on an outer rim world, called Abbaji. I asked Garza to send a spec force team out there to investigate,” Vander said, still staring down at his hands. “But Abbaji isn’t a Republic world and all of their spice goes to Nar Shaddaa…”

“She told you no,” Wynneth said, crossing her legs. Jorgan looked over at her, wanting to get an idea of her thoughts. She nodded and gave him a smile. “Havoc doesn’t have an assignment right now. We could get there in three days, bust them up in two, and get back in no time.”

Vander exhaled. “I would greatly appreciate that, Major. I’m not looking to kill the gang, just end their operation so Blaise comes home.”

Jorgan leaned back in his chair, glad the favor wasn’t anything worse. Havoc could break up drug rings in their sleep. The op would be a complete cakewalk and he and Wynneth would be married in no time.


	4. The Pit

“This place sucks.”

“No one asked for your professional opinion, Vik,” Wynneth said, sounding bored. “Now get your ass moving or I’ll make you double time it.”

Underneath the safety of his helmet, Jorgan smirked. He did certainly like it when his girl didn’t take any shit from Vik. Still rankled him that Tanno Vik, once kicked out of the army, now served with the Republic’s finest. Only issue in this case was Vik was absolutely right.

Ten minutes on Abbaji and Jorgan had to admit he agreed. This place did suck.  

The Cathar thrived on open plains. To be holed up in a dense rain forest like this one made Jorgan’s fur on the back of his neck stand up. But nothing, not even a humid rain forest like this, would keep them from finishing this mission. Then he and Wynneth could cash in most of their leave and enjoy a nice, long honeymoon. Taking out a bunch of thugs pretending to be serious criminals would only make it that much sweeter.

“Can we at least stop for water?” Vik asked.

Jorgan could almost hear Wynneth rolling her eyes. But he couldn’t blame Vik. Thanks to not wanting to give away their position, they landed the ship almost an hour’s walk from the camp. Almost thirty minutes had passed in hot, humid weather in full heavy armor. He wouldn’t mind a bit of water himself.

“Fine,” Wynneth said as she stopped walking. “But only because _I_ _’m_ thirsty, Vik. This has nothing to do with you.”

“If you say so, boss,” Vik said, taking off his helmet.

One of the advantages of having a droid like Forex in the group was it didn’t mind carrying everyone’s gear. In fact, more often than not, Forex insisted. And for treks like this? The rest of the squad gladly let him. Forex held out four canteens and a hydrospray bottle for Yuun.

Jorgan rolled his neck once he took of his helmet. This weather was the worst. Already his fur felt matted, and not for the first time, he was grateful he didn’t sweat like humans. Though he had certainly come to appreciate Wynneth in that state.

She walked over to him, cradling her helmet on her hip, and dangling two canteens from her fingers. He took one gratefully, letting their fingers brush a moment longer than strictly necessary. Through his armored gauntlets, he could barely feel her touch, but just that extra moment was enough. Wynneth grinned at him, and he bumped his shoulder into hers.

As he took a sip of water, he wondered if these little moments would feel any different once they were married. They already made him happy, a state of being he never truly expected to achieve. Jorgan could only imagine marriage would only make them better.

And that’s when everything exploded.

Jorgan’s ears rang loudly as he tried to pick himself up off of the ground. He heard the familiar song of blaster fire, one round hitting him square in the shoulder. Thankfully, his heavy armor brushed it off like dust. As quickly as he could, he scooped up his helmet, and planted it on his head, not bothering to deal with the seals.

Wynneth was already on her feet, shouting orders. “Seven of them. Vik and Yuun, get in their faces. Jorgan, you and I are mid line fire. Dorne and Forex, back line. Dorne, keep us all alive. Forex, keep Dorne alive.”

“Yes, sir!” came everyone’s response at once.

The seven mercenaries they faced clearly weren’t trained all that well. Men and women, all different species. Jorgan tried to see if there was a human, if one might be General Vander’s son, but with the speed of battle, he couldn’t tell. And frankly, right now, he honestly didn’t give a shit.

While they might not be trained, they brought some serious fire power. As he focused on a Nautolan, Jorgan cursed himself. They should have scouted first themselves, instead of relying on the apparently outdated intel they received from General Vander. Well, nothing they could do about it now, except end this fight and regroup.

When there were only three mercenaries left, Jorgan changed the barrel of his gun with a practiced ease. After all these years, he made it a habit to take a quick glance at Wynneth after he dropped the used barrel to the ground. Her assault rifle cradled on one hip while she prepped a grenade. Even with strands of hair stuck to her forehead and dirt smeared across her face, she was still the most beautiful thing in the galaxy.

His mind went back to the battlefield, being careful to aim away from Yuun and Vik, tanking at the front lines. Then within five seconds, the entire battle changed.

Jorgan heard Wynneth yell, “Plastique!” and because he knew her mind in a fight almost as good as his own, he knew she’d be aiming for the one asshole who managed to ignore Vik’s taunts. Vik might be the scum of the galaxy, but the bastard did know how to piss people off in a fight.

And only seconds later, he heard her scream.

Over the years, he learned the tenor of Wynneth’s screams. He understood the difference between a scream in pain and a scream in anger or frustration. This scream was different. This sounded like a scream of absolute terror, and it chilled Jorgan down to the very bone.

He looked over to where she had been standing only seconds ago and she was _gone._

“Major!” Elara yelled behind him. Jorgan took a step towards the empty space that had been his betrothed, but stopped before getting his head on straight. The best thing he could do for Wynneth right now is finish this damn fight. He heard Elara sprinting, and forced himself not to look. He had to focus on the battle in front of him.

Three minutes later, the fight was over. “Handle it, Vik,” Jorgan said, pointing to the bodies across the way. Vik would deal with any of the bad guys stupid enough not to die during the fight, giving Jorgan the chance to figure out just what the hell had happened.

Elara knelt next to a ditch in ground, preparing a medical probe, and Jorgan’s stomach tied itself in knots. “She alive?” he asked, hardly able to get the words out of his mouth. He took off his helmet, dropping it to the ground without a care.

“She is, And to ease your mind, I don’t expect that to change any time soon,” Elara said quietly. Then raising her voice, added, “You’re supposed to be counting, Major. Keep counting.”

Relief bubbled up through him, almost enough to knock him off balance. She lived. That’s all that mattered. They could get through anything else. Jorgan splayed himself against the ground, feeling like he should have a sniper rifle in his hands. The recess Wynneth found herself in wasn’t deep; Jorgan could reach down and almost touch the top of her head. She sat with her legs spread, one clearly broken. Wynneth never wore full heavy armor like he did, wanting the mobility a lighter kit gave her. But that mobility came at a cost.

With the shade from all the trees, it took Jorgan a moment to realize there was a dead body in the hole with her. Not only that, he saw the remnants of her grenade. Easy enough to figure what happened. The dead bastard must have jumped her just as she was about to throw her grenade and they all ended up in a ditch in the ground.

Wynneth looked up at him then, but her gaze was slightly unfocused as her head lolled back. From here, even with the shadows from the forest, he could clearly see the tear tracts on her cheeks. “What the hell happened?” she asked, her voice pained.

“Do you think you’re going to go into shock, sir?” Elara asked as she threw down a stim to Wynneth. “Inject yourself with that.”

“Maybe?” Wynneth said as she caught the stim with one hand. “I think it’s a compound break. I can feel it through my armor. Hurts like a son-of-a-bitch.”

Jorgan wanted to stay on the ground and talk to her, make sure she was going to be alright, but then his military instincts kicked. They were in hostile enemy territory and the commander of his squad was out of commission. He was the damn XO. Time to act like it.

“If they were able to burn seven guys just on a patrol, they have a bigger camp than Vander expected,” Jorgan said, getting up off of his stomach and settling on one knee. “Forex, Yuun, start scouting the perimeter. My guess if they’re going to wonder where their missing patrol is soon.”

“Of course, sir!” was Forex’s enthusiastic reply while Yuun simply nodded, removing his tech staff from his back.

“Can we move her?” Jorgan asked Elara. “We’ve got to get her back to the ship.”

Elara’s mouth settled into a thin line. “I’d prefer we devise some sort of pulley system-”

“We don’t have that kind of time, Dorne,” Jorgan said, standing up all the way. He was in the middle of one of his worst nightmares. Scenarios like this were why Garza fought them staying together in the same squad after they begun their relationship, and for the first time, he wondered if she might have been right. Because right now, all he wanted to do was get Wynneth out of that damn hole and safe on the ship. Mission be damned. “Vik and I can pull her up.”

“And dislocate her shoulder?”

“Better that than getting caught with our pants down when the raiders find us,” Jorgan said. He peered into the hole. “Major, you think you can stand? Would make things a lot easier.”

Her whole body seemed to deflate. “Yeah, might take a minute, but I can stand. Kolto tank’s mine when we get to the ship.”

Wynneth pulled off one of her thick leather gloves and put it between her teeth. He knew that trick. It took a minute, but she managed to pull herself up in a standing position. Watching her work was agonizing, because Jorgan knew there wasn’t a damn thing he could do to help her right now. On her feet, her head was just peaking out of the ditch. She reached out, and for a moment he thought she was reaching for his hand. He hesitated, not sure if they should hold hands but then he realized she only had eyes for Elara.

Sweat beaded her brow as her eyes clenched tightly shut. Slightly panting, Wynneth said, “Gimme a kolto pack.” When Elara took a second too long to respond, Wynneth demanded, practically snarling, “Give me a damn pack!”

Jorgan grabbed one from his own kit and handed it to Wynneth, who immediately jammed it into her thigh. Her face lost some of the ghastly look as the kolto started to do its job. That was when he noticed her implant over her right eye wasn’t lit.

He never developed that particular talent of so many soldiers who could fall asleep at a moment’s notice. Ideally, he would fall asleep in a completely dark and quiet room. Took him a while to get used to sleeping in Wynneth’s room when they started to bunk together regularly. Her implant gave off a soft glow, all hours of the day. These days, though, the soft blue light in the middle of a darkened room or tent comforted him more than anything.

But right now, there was no light.

“Something wrong with your implant?” Jorgan asked. He didn’t know the specifics, but he did know her implant didn’t give her any fancy powers or tech, like some cyborgs. Hers was simply medical.

“What?” Wynneth and Elara asked at the same time, both sounding panicked. Elara started taking a scan. “Major, your dilantin levels are extremely low. Do you have any you can take orally?”

Wynneth looked down and groaned. “The plastique shredded my belt. I’ve got nothing, Elara.” Her hand curling up into a fist, she pounded the dirt wall in front of her. “And I’ve been putting off the blood test and I’ve gained weight. _Damnit._ ”

Any relief that Jorgan felt from getting Wynneth up on her feet disappeared at the fear in her voice. “Someone want to tell me what’s going on?”

“I’m probably going to have fucking seizure, that’s what’s going on,” Wynneth said. “Kriff, I don’t believe this.” She took a breath and in that moment, any fear disappeared and she was truly the commander of Havoc squad. “New plan. Get me the hell out of here, we’ll get back to the ship and regroup.”

_Sir, my scanners have picked up a large contingent of speeders heading in our direction. If my estimate is accurate, we have less than five minutes before they make it to your position. While there_ _’s no doubt in my processing core that Havoc squad is the best in the Republic, nay the_ galaxy, _the sheer number of enemies they have decided to send towards us might be more than we can handle if the good Major is unable to contribute to the fight._

“Of course,” Jorgan spat. Because why would one thing go wrong when everything could go wrong? When it came to numbers, Forex didn’t exaggerate. If the droid worried too many fighters were on the way, then too many fighters were on the way. “Thanks, Forex. You hear that, Yuun? Both of you get back here.”

_Yuun will reverse paths so that we all might walk in harmony._

_Roger, sir!_

“Let’s get you up and out,” Jorgan said, motioning to Vik.

Wynneth shook her head, grimacing in pain. “You’ve got to leave me here.”

The words were a punch in the gut. “Like hell, I will.”

“Captain, I have a broken leg and if I don’t get some meds in my system soon, I’m going to have a seizure. I am worthless in a fight right now. If I have a gun in my hand and a seizure hits? I could kill someone on the squad,” Wynneth said, her face hard.

Jorgan ignored the tears in her eyes and tried to think like a damn XO, not someone worried about his betrothed. Problem was, that line was feeling really damn thin right now. “We’ll get you back to the ship, then we can take out the drug ring.”

“We’re thirty minutes away from the ship and they’re on speeders, Captain. You’ll never outrun them with me.”

Elara coughed. “We’ll just give you a moment of privacy.”

Jorgan dropped down on the ground, laying on this stomach, so they were almost face to face. He started to say something, he wasn’t even sure what, when Wynneth grabbed his hands. “I’ll be fine where I am. I’ll get back on the ground in case I seize. Then you can lead Havoc away from here and take care of things.”

“You really think I’m just going to leave you here?” he asked, mouth agape. What she asked was unthinkable. He wouldn’t do it. He _couldn_ _’t._

Her eyes closed for a second and when she looked up again, she said, her voice pleading, “Aric, don’t make me order you.”

“I’ll disobey it,” Jorgan said softly, knowing he never had disobeyed an order like this in his life. But for Wynneth? He would. He would give up everything, and the rational part of his brain was terrified at that knowledge, that anyone could have that sort of power over him.

“Don’t. _Please_ ,” Wynneth whispered, squeezing his hands. “You know what will happen if you do.”

Yeah. He did. Soon as she recovered, their relationship would be over. Because how could she trust him if he refused to follow her orders, even if disobeying might save her life. There’d be no vows in front of the Elders, no litter of runts they might adopt some day. He’d request a transfer before she could fill out the paperwork to have him reassigned. And a lonely road would stretch out in front of him. He’d never marry. How could he when he would have let the love of his life slip through his fingertips? They might not have said the vows yet, but she was his and he was hers. _This_ is why Cathar mated for life. No one else could ever compare after her.

“Damnit, Winnie,” Jorgan said, scooting forward. She was right. She was absolutely right and it _killed_ him. He pressed his brow against hers, breathing in deeply, wanting to remember every last scent, just in case this was the last time. It couldn’t be. He wouldn’t allow it. “You better be here when I get back.”

“I’ll do my best,” she said, sounding so earnest that Jorgan almost believed her.

Then not wasting another second, Jorgan jumped up off of the ground, his path set. “We’re moving out, Havoc. Away from here to set up an ambush. Double time it.”

The squad started jogging and somehow Jorgan found the strength to only look forward and to not look back.


	5. Ready Aim Fire

So maybe sending Aric and the squad off, leaving her alone in a ditch, hadn’t been her best plan.

Wynneth checked her chronometer again. Three hours had passed since they left. Three hours should have been plenty of time to set up an ambush and get back here. The unthinkable crossed her mind and she dismissed it immediately. The squad - _Aric_ \- was just being thorough. Had to be. She refused to accept any other scenario.

Two hours had passed since she had a seizure. A baby one. Nothing compared to the ones she had as a child. But she could tell more were on the way unless she had more dilantin in her system. She truly hated the meds. Every six months she needed a blood test and they were causing all sorts of issues with her gums. But for nineteen years, since she was twelve and a kindly old doctor on Nar Shaddaa fitted her with cybernetics, the meds kept the seizures away.

Almost everything hurt. Her head, her jaw, her leg, her back. And if the plan she came up with for getting out of this ditch worked, any parts of her body not currently hurting, would soon be doing just that. Not the best plan Wynneth had ever come up with. But considering the only asset here in the ditch with her was a dead Zabrak, any plan was better than no plan.

She stood, weight on her favorite leg, the leg that wasn’t broken, and tried to catch her breath. Just standing up exhausted her. Part of her wanted to rest, let her body recover. But the sun would set soon, and she had no desire to spend the night in a ditch. With a dead Zabrak.

Now or never.

Wynneth put her glove back between her teeth, and stepped on the dead Zabrak’s shoulder, pushing her body up. Her left leg protested at the sudden weight it had to bear, but she just clenched down on the glove, and grabbed the edge of the ditch. A few minutes passed as she pulled herself up, before flopping down on the floor of the rain forest, tears running down her face,

She wanted to yell out in pain, but without a weapon, she couldn’t take that chance. So Wynneth clamped her hands over her mouth and silently screamed. “Fuck,” she whispered, her voice harsh. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

The practical thing to do would be to get on her feet and limp her way back to the ship. Havoc wore forest gear for this op, so one person walking slowly might be able to avoid detection. Then once at the ship, she could start tending to some of her injuries. Get some food in her stomach. Sleep. _Find Aric. T_ urning her head, Wynneth saw another option. There, next to her assault rifle, was her holocom. Her beautiful, gorgeous, perfect holocom.

It took longer than she’d like to crawl over to the holocom. But she made it and immediately turned it to the squad’s frequency. “Major Hindemith here. Status.”

Each second that passed felt like an hour. _Damn good to hear your voice, sir,_ Aric said over the com. Wynneth closed her eyes, relief rushing through her body. _We’re just finishing up here at the main camp. I’ll send Elara and Yuun to your position. The rest of us are needed here to deal with some prisoners._

“Understood. Hindemith, out,” Wynneth said, dropping the holocom. Knowing rescue was on the way caused her to deflate a bit, and exhaustion settled on her shoulders. As carefully as she could, she lay down on her side, reaching out to place her hand on her rifle. Feeling the cool metal calmed her, almost as much as hearing Aric’s voice. She was alive. And had a gun. There was nothing she couldn’t do.

#

Something hurt.

Wynneth kept her eyes closed as she wet her lips - why did it feel like she had cotton in her mouth? - and tried to move. She rolled her neck, followed by her shoulders. Wiggled her fingers, then shifted her hips. Then she tried wiggling her toes, and promptly discovered what hurt. Her leg.

“Ow,” she said, opening her eyes.

The ceiling of what she assumed was the _Thunderclap’s_ medbay stared down at her. So she survived Abbaji. Definitely a good thing. But why did she hurt so much?

She wasn’t sure why she was so surprised about the pain. She was a soldier, one in her early thirties. One day she would get to the point when _everything_ hurt. Then it would be time to retire from the field and take a desk job. Hopefully years from now. Many, many years from now.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Aric, looking incredibly uncomfortable as he dozed in chair. “Aric?” she asked softly, her voice sounding a bit rusty. She wasn’t quite sure if she should wake him, but decided if their positions were reversed, she’d want to know when he woke.

His eyes opened quickly as he sat up straight. “Hey, babe,” he said, stretching his arms high above his head. “Good to see you up again. Elara wasn’t sure how long you’d be out.”

“Again?” Wynneth asked, thinking back. The last thing she remembered was being on planet.

“You were pretty high on pain meds for a little bit,” Aric said with a chuckle. “Kept petting my arm and saying ‘you have fur.’ I pointed out a couple of times that I knew I had fur, but apparently you decided it was your duty to remind me.”

Apparently she had missed some things. “I don’t remember that at _all_ ,” she said with a laugh. Over her time in the military, she had been fairly lucky when it came to injuries. She’d never needed a surgery. She’d only broken one bone before this - her wrist in a spar gone wrong - and only had one concussion. Compared to some soldiers, that was nothing. “You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?”

Aric shook his head, a smirk on his lips. “Never. Wish I took a holovid.” He moved his chair so he could be right next to the bed. Wynneth relaxed as he took her hand in his.  “How you feeling?”

“My mouth is really dry,” she said, wetting her lips again. Aric wasted no time picking up a plastic cup of water with a lid and a straw off of the bedside table. The water wasn’t quite cold, but it certainly helped get a bit of that cotton feeling out of her mouth. “Thank you.” With the worst distraction out of the way, Wynneth could listen to her body a bit more. The ache in her jaw, the throbbing in her temple, suddenly felt familiar. Worn memories from her childhood. “I vaguely remember this feeling after I had a seizure.”

Aric nodded, squeezing her hand. “Elara doesn’t think it was a bad one, though. She also told me you were supposed to have a blood test to determine your dilantin levels two months ago.”

“Sounds like a breach of medical privacy there,” Wynneth said, trying to keep her voice light. It didn’t work and ended up being more like a pout.

“We became each other’s medical contacts when we filled out that first form, remember? Don’t blame a guy for taking advantage of the system,” Aric said, tugging at the braid her hair was in. “I was thinking, why don’t I carry some of those meds you need, too? Just in case. 

“That’s not a bad idea,” she said slowly. She always kept some on her, but clearly that wasn’t enough. “I remember breaking my leg. What else happened? We bust up the ring?”

“A bunch simply pulled out once we started hammering their main base. Got a couple in custody, down in the brig. Including General Vander’s son.”

A smile spread across her face. “So that means…”

Aric grinned right back at her, a smile she could never see enough of. “Yep. Already spoke to Vander. He said to send him the form anytime and he will gladly approve.”

Wynneth rested her head back on her pillow, eyes not leaving his. “We’re going to get married,” she said, laughter in her voice. The mission was a flop as missions went, but they achieved their goal. They were going to get married.

He leaned forward, resting his brow against hers. “We’re going to get married,” he repeated, his voice solemn, almost like a prayer.

Suddenly, Wynneth decided Aric couldn’t be close enough. His chair, even next to the bed, seemed incredibly far away. She scooted over, ignoring the way her broken leg protested, and patted the space next to her. “There’s plenty of room for both of us.”

“Elara will kill me, but you know what? I don’t care right now,” Aric said, standing up. “Just let me know if I hurt you, okay?”

The bed was cramped with Aric laying on his side next to her, but Wynneth couldn’t find it in herself to care. Seeing him in a medbay bed like this, even fully clothed, reminded her of the trip to Coruscant after the Gauntlet had been destroyed. Aric had been in an incredible amount of pain, and Elara eventually had to order Wynneth out of the medbay, because she couldn’t stop pacing.

But that had also been when Wynneth realized just how deep her feelings ran for him. It terrified her, falling in love with a member of her squad when she was the commanding officer. The few relationships she had been in before Aric, she always had been the one to make that first move. To have had that taken away from her, to have been only able to wait and hope that Aric might say something, had been _awful._

“Should we fill out the form?” she asked, looking up at him, wondering if her smile could get any bigger at this point. She didn’t think so. But that wouldn’t mean she wouldn’t try.

Nodding, Aric reached over her and grabbed her holopad off of the bedside table. “I might have already downloaded it,” he said. “Needed something to do while you were out.”

A few keystrokes later, and the form stared back at them. It was a simple form, looking a bit like her field reports. But this form meant _everything._ Form 5763W. “So it looks like you need to fill it out first,” she said, reading the fine print. “Makes sense. Then no one can say I pulled rank on you.”

Aric placed the holopad on her stomach, and started filling out the form. Wynneth watched him fill out his full name - Aric Nessar Jorgan - and his address. Like her, he simply listed a post office box on Coruscant. If they were going to raise a family someday, they would need to get a real house or apartment. No more living on the ship or in officer barracks. That would be a good day, moving into a home of their own.

With a flourish, he signed his name at the bottom of the form with his finger. Without any warning, Aric kissed her hard on the lips. Wynneth’s jaw still ached, recovering from the seizure, but she found herself kissing him back just as enthusiastically. “Your turn,” he said, causing a shiver as he ran a finger down the side of her neck.

Laying on her back as she was, filling out the form might be a problem. “Can we raise the mattress so I can sit up?” she asked.

“On the panel,” Aric said. “I remember from when I had to stay here. These beds really aren’t comfortable, are they?”

“Nope,” Wynneth said, pressing a button. The mattress started shifting and only a few moments later, she was sitting up, leaning into Aric, his arm resting on top her shoulders.

She filled out the form carefully, taking her time, making sure each section was exactly the way it was supposed to be. When she finished signing her name, Wynneth placed the holopad on her lap. Aric kissed her temple, and she desperately wished they could celebrate this moment properly, preferably in a bed other than in the medbay for several hours.

“Go ahead and send it in,” Wynneth said quietly.

“Why me?” Aric asked, picking up the holopad. “Oh, right. I’ll send it now.”

Wynneth watched as he sent the form in to General Vander, pleased he figured out why she wanted him to send it without her having to explain. After all this time, she had no doubt - no doubt - that he was in this relationship of his own free will. But for any outsider who might question them, she could tell them that Aric was the one who submitted the form.

“We’re really getting married,” she whispered. The future settled for now, Wynneth was ready for a nap.

#

“Wake up, Winnie.”

“No,” Wynneth said, her eyes shut tight. She desperately wished she could turn to her side, but Elara insisted that her leg stay in traction until they reached Coruscant. Sadly, no amount of protesting could dissuade the medic.

Aric sat on the edge of her bed, and Wynneth finally decided to open her eyes when she felt his bare hand on her stomach. “We’ll be landing in an hour. Time to wake up.”

“You pack up my gear?” she asked, taking the bed remote and raising herself up more into a sitting position.

Her holocom beeped, her mom’s tone, followed by two generic message alerts. Aric’s comm beeped at the same time. “That’s my littermate’s tone,” he said, looking worried. “She never pings, only writes.”

Lieutenant Mai’s tone sounded, and Wynneth’s stomach rolled over. What had _happened?_

_Congratulations! I still better be invited!_

Wynneth scrolled through another message as Aric did the same. Her mother’s - _You couldn’t tell me yourself you set the wedding date? -_ made her heart sink.

Her holopad sat on the bed, and Wynneth grabbed it, immediately opening up the breaking news app. The headline horrified her. “Oh no,” she whispered. “This can’t be happening.”

Another touch of the app and a holo of Saresh appeared. _We have exciting news in our Armed Services Division. We’ve all heard the rumors by now, and I’m so pleased to announce that they’re all true. The incomparable Major Wynneth Hindemith and Captain Aric Jorgan of Havoc squad are getting married. They filed the official paperwork only yesterday._

Aric shifted back so they could sit next to each other. “There goes keeping it quiet,” he muttered, his holocom down on the bed. His entire body tensed, even as his arm slid around her shoulders.

_To thank them for their years of service, and to celebrate all Havoc squad has accomplished, The Republic has agreed to host their wedding right here on Coruscant in the Garden of Justice in just one week. It will be a day to remember, one we will all be thrilled to share with the entire galaxy._

Elara ran into the medbay, a huge smile on her face. “This is so exciting. The press says it’s going to be as elaborate as a state dinner. If there’s anything you need, Major, I hope you’ll let me help. I do so love organizing.”

Aric’s grip on her shoulder had almost become painful. Wynneth tried to sit up straight, but the damn traction kept her from doing anything but lay on her back . “We didn’t agree to this, Elara,” she said, her voice weary.

Glancing over at Aric, she saw his mouth drawn in a thin line, his eyes narrowed. “No, we certainly did not,” he said, as a hand curled into a fist.

“Oh,” Elara said, her mouth in a perfect ‘o’ shape.

Elara looked so disappointed that Wynneth ran her hand over her face. If there was one thing she hated, it was disappointing a member of her squad. “But I promise you, Elara, if there’s any wedding planning to be done, you’re the first person I’ll turn to.”

“Thank you, sir,” Elara said. Her face lit up at the prospect. “I’ll leave you two alone so you can discuss everything. I’m so thrilled for you both.”

Aric kissed her temple. “You do realize the Cathar ceremony basically has no planning, right? And that traditionally only celebrants do the work, to prove that they’re entering the marriage of their own free will?”

Wynneth’s stomach clenched. “So did I just ruin our Cathar wedding?” she asked as she looked up into Aric’s face, searching for an answer.

“Winnie, it’ll be you and me. No matter what happens, it will be absolutely perfect,” Aric said softly. He took a deep breath and picked up his holocom. “What are the chances that we talk to Saresh and she sees reason?”

Shaking her head, Wynneth knew no matter how hard they pleaded, they would be getting married on Coruscant. Just great.


	6. Tiptoe

Jorgan sat at the workstation in his and Wynneth’s quarters, staring at the holocom in front of him. Normally, he wouldn’t consider himself a coward. Always willing to get the job done. But this? This was a battle of a different sort, a battle where there would be no victors. Running his hand over his head, Jorgan took a breath, and pressed a button on his holocom, the one that was a direct link to his parent’s house.

It was nine o’clock at night in Genada, the city where he grew up on Rendili. He timed the call carefully, wanting to make sure both his parents were home, but before they would go to bed. Part of him wondered if they’d see who called and would refuse to answer. That thought went out the window when his mother appeared on the link.

Hetta Jorgan was a slight woman; Jorgan and his littermates got their height from their father’s side. Even without height, a sense of authority surrounded the woman, thanks to her years in the Republic Army, though long retired. Her fur had lightened from age until it almost matched Jorgan’s color. But age hadn’t touched much else.

_Aric._

The tone of her voice made Jorgan’s stomach sink. If she could sound so cold through a holo, why had she bothered to pick up the link? Scratching the back of his neck, Jorgan said, “I guess you heard the news, then.” Hetta’s only response was to cross her arms over her chest. “We’re going to try to get the Coruscant wedding canceled. Neither one of us want it. But in case it happens, I’d really like you and Dad there.”

Jorgan exhaled, glad he got that out right away. At least he wouldn’t have to chide himself for not asking.

_She_ _’s not Cathar._

That didn’t take long. “Mom, I _love_ her. She’s the one. There’s no other person for me.”

_Then date her, enjoy her while you can. Your father and I will look the other way. But don_ _’t_ marry _her. You marry a Cathar. Aric, you have a responsibility to your people-_

“Oh come on,” Jorgan said, trying to keep the anger out of his voice. He stood up, and somehow managed to keep himself from pacing. “Don’t give me that. I’ve seen the numbers. Repopulation efforts are going better than expected. You always knew I never planned on having kids anyway, not after I joined the army.”

He kept the secret of his and Wynneth’s hearts, that one day they would adopt and have a family of their own, to himself for now. His parents didn’t need to know that, not when it would probably cause even more arguments.

_Having a child or two of your own would help those efforts. You marry a human, and all of it is for nothing._

Jorgan shook his head. “That’s not true. I joined the army for our people in the first place. That doesn’t change because I’m going to marry a- marry Wynneth.” He almost said _a human_. But her species didn’t matter. He would have loved her if she were a Togruta or a Zabrak. Any species, really. “Look, I’m not changing my mind on this. Wynneth is going to be my lifemate. Will you come to the ceremony on Coruscant?”

There. He couldn’t ask more plainly than that.

_No._ Her voice was clipped and controlled, and Jorgan wondered if they’d ever see reason. Maybe his happiness just didn’t matter to his parents, not if he lived a life other than the one they thought he should.

“Fine,” Jorgan said as calmly as he could, even as behind his back, he dug his claws into the fleshy part of his palm. Now he had one last question to find out just how wide the divide between him and his parents truly was. “In a couple of weeks, Wynneth and I will be on Rendili, to say our vows in front of the Elders-”

_You would have a human say our sacred vows?_

“Non-Cathar have said the vows before, Mom,” Jorgan all but snapped. “It’s allowed.” He took a breath, trying to center himself. This would be a lot easier if he had Wynneth by his side. “Can we stop by the house?”

_Why? You clearly don_ _’t care what we think if you’re going ahead and marrying this woman._

He should have made this a voice-only link. Then Jorgan wouldn’t have to strain from showing the annoyance on his face. “It’s been almost two years since I’ve seen you both in person,” he said, somehow keeping his voice controlled. “I’d like to see you.” Though right now, he wasn’t exactly sure why.

His mother’s face softened, but only slightly. _We may not agree with your choices, Aric, but you_ _’re our son. We won’t turn you away._

Jorgan’s shoulders stiffened, waiting for the obvious next step. That he would be welcomed, but not Wynneth. As far as he was concerned, if they didn’t welcome her, they didn’t welcome him. But the words never came. “Thank you,” he said, not quite able to keep the relief out of his voice. “Once I have dates, I’ll let you know.”

_Thank you._

“I’m sure it’s getting late there,” Jorgan said, not feeling any need to prolong the talk. “I’ll let you go. Good night, Mom.”

_Good night, son._

Hetta disappeared from the link and Jorgan slammed the heel of his palm into the wall. The conversation went exactly as had he pictured, yet he had hoped for better. He needed to see Wynneth. Desperately. But she was down on Coruscant, spending a night in the Army’s medical facility to fix up her leg. Tomorrow she’d be able to walk around like nothing happened. Tonight, though, she needed her rest.

Too bad tomorrow seemed like a really long ways away.

#

“See?” Wynneth asked him, turning around in a circle. “You wouldn’t even know I was hurt.”

Jorgan took a step closer to her. Only twenty-four hours had passed since he’d seen his girl, but it felt like a lifetime. “Glad you’re feeling better. Missed you last night. Realized it’s been a while since I’ve had to sleep alone.”

She smiled, a wicked smiled that caused absolutely the wrong type of thoughts for the Senate Building. “I’ll make it up to you tonight,” she said, her voice no louder than a whisper.

“I’m gonna hold you to that,” Jorgan said.

“Damn right you will. Been a while since we’ve used the cuffs.”

He shifted uncomfortably, and immediately started thinking of cold showers and the sand on Tatooine. He _hated_ sand. “You spring that on me right before we’re going to talk to Saresh?” Jorgan let out a bark of a laugh. Just thinking about meeting with the Chancellor solved that particular problem. “Let’s get this over with.”

They walked companionably side by side through the halls of the Senate Tower. The meeting would be a waste of time, Jorgan had no doubt about that. But they at least had to let her know how unhappy they were with the stunt she pulled. Saresh had no right to make a decision like that without discussing it with them first.

A Sullustan sat at a desk in front of Saresh’s office. Last Jorgan heard, Saresh’s assistant was a Togruta. Before that, a human. She did seem to go through them quickly. The Sullustan waved them through and Jorgan took a breath, wanting to stay calm. He took care with his grooming this morning, wearing a freshly pressed service uniform, not wanting to give any reason for Saresh to pay attention to anything other than what they had to say.

Saresh sat behind a desk almost as large as the conference table in the briefing room on the _Thunderclap._ At least three holoscreens stood in front of her, which she all pushed aside as they approached. “Welcome,” she said, a smile on her face which Jorgan could clearly interpret as political. “I’ve been hoping for some time with the two of you. There is so much to plan.”

They stood in front of the desk, both in a casual parade rest. Jorgan tried not to be irritated by the lack of asking them to sit. They were standing right next to chairs. But he got it. Clearly she wanted to remind them who had the power in the room.

“Chancellor, while we appreciate the idea of a Republic wedding, Captain Jorgan and I were hoping for something smaller, and much more private,” Wynneth said, her chin raised.

Behind his back, Jorgan clenched his fists, reminding himself to keep quiet. Wynneth had a certain talent when it came to dealing with the brass. A talent Jorgan sorely lacked. They both agreed that she would do the talking. Yet actually being in the room with Saresh made him want to tell her _exactly_ what he thought of her announcement.

“I see,” Saresh said slowly, drumming her fingers on the desk. “I made that announcement more than a day ago, Major. A lot has been planned in that day. A great number of credits have been spent in that day. Why wouldn’t you have said something the moment you heard my announcement?”

Jorgan grinded his teeth; Saresh was clearly leading them somewhere. Wynneth’s shoulders stiffened, making him think she had the same thought he did. “We were less than an hour out of Coruscant when we saw the holo. The moment we landed-”

“The moment you landed, you were taken to the Army’s specialized medical facility here in the Senate Tower, were you not? Injured in an unauthorized and unsanctioned mission?” Saresh asked, as one of her lekku twitched. “I’m sure the press would love to hear the official story of what happened on Abbaji. The Senate might be interested, too, learning about such pay to play schemes in the Army.”

That would be just what they needed. Every instinct wanted him to lash out, to defend what happened, but somehow Jorgan stayed still and stared at the wall just above Saresh’s head.

“Are you married, Chancellor?” Wynneth asked, her voice quiet. The change in tactics surprised Jorgan enough to make him look at his betrothed, wondering what she was thinking.

“I’m not,” Saresh said. “Marriage is something that never really interested me.”

“I’ve found that for two people who have chosen to wed, that the actual day is important. Captain Jorgan and I have an idea of what we want, and a huge wedding, generous as it is, is not what we want,” Wynneth said. “This is not something we would choose for ourselves.”

The smile that spread across Saresh’s face told him they lost whatever battle it was they were fighting. They would be getting married in two weeks on Coruscant, and that wasn’t a damn thing they could do about it. “There’s something to be said about choice, isn’t there?” Saresh said, her voice sharp. “I remember less than six months ago, I made a choice about General Rakton. I was then told that I would be making countless solder’s sacrifices meaningless.”

 Jorgan breathed in sharply through his nose, and somehow managed not look at Wynneth. He remembered that conversation like it was yesterday. Saresh had been so proud of her plan, and then Wynneth brought the woman back to reality. Give up General Rakton? Not an option, and as Wynneth had told Saresh just that, it had been hard not to cheer her on.

“I see,” Wynneth said, and Jorgan heard the defeat in her voice. So they’d have two weddings. Plenty of inter-species couples did that these days. Far as he was concerned, it would mean they’d have two wedding nights, and he couldn’t see how that would be a bad thing. “What do you need us to do?”

“That’s the spirit,” Saresh said, leaning back in her chair. “You’ll see, Major. This will be a chance for the Republic to show off and put on its finest. It’ll be even better than a State Dinner. We’ve retained an event planner. They’ll be in touch.”

“Thank you, Chancellor,” Wynneth and Jorgan both said at the same time.

Saresh raised her brow. “Aren’t you two just adorable. Dismissed.”

Jorgan turned heel the second he heard the order. He couldn’t get out of that office fast enough. Wynneth kept pace, and neither spoke until they made it to the elevator. “Guess we’re getting married in a week,” he said, taking her hand.

“Guess so,” Wynneth said, squeezing his hand. She let out a bitter chuckle. “Should have realized when I spoke out against that POW trade there’d be consequences. Never thought Saresh’s choice of revenge would be throwing us a wedding.”

The elevator doors opened and Jorgan and Wynneth both took a step away from each other. Once they made it to the exit of the Senate Tower, he tried not to flinch as he saw the press waiting for them. “I’m not talking to them,” he muttered to Wynneth.

“Five minutes of sound bites,” Wynneth said, and to his dismay, she sounded serious. “We’ve ignored them long enough. Let’s give them something and maybe they’ll leave us alone.” Jorgan glared at her. “Okay, they won’t, but a girl can dream.”

“Five minutes,” he said, steeling himself for the throng. He _hated_ talking to the press.

Wynneth handled the whole thing much better than he did, but even she wasn’t in her element in a crowd like this. The moment she said they had a meeting to get to, Jorgan was practically ready to run back to the ship. But they started walking, leaving the reporters behind them. One or two journalists followed, but Jorgan made it clear they would not be answering any more questions.

The relief he felt upon entering Havoc’s private hangar couldn’t be measured. With no one around, Jorgan took Wynneth’s hand as they talked back to the ship.

“I’ve got a priority message,” Wynneth said as they walked into the ship. “You got anything?” Jorgan shook his head as she trailed him into their bedroom. “It’s from the event planner. They want our guest list by tomorrow. We’re allowed to invite six people each, including the squad.”

“That’s pretty damn quick,” Jorgan said.

“No kidding,” Wynneth said as she sat down on the bed, crossing her legs. “I talked to my mom for a while last night. My stepdad was hurt in a training exercise. Nothing life threatening, but she doesn’t want to leave him. So they won’t be there.” She sighed, clearly unhappy.

Jorgan sat down next to her, placing his hand on her knee. “You okay?”

With a shrug, she said, “I guess. I know they wouldn’t be there for the Cathar ceremony, but when this all came up, I got my hopes up. But they’ll both be able to watch the live feed, at least.”

Jorgan blew out a puff of air. He couldn’t have asked her to hand him a more perfect opening. “Well, if it helps, my parents won’t be there, either.”

“Everything okay?” Wynneth asked, leaning in to him.

“Yeah,” Jorgan said. “They’re fine.” He paused. What he would say next would hurt her. And that wasn’t something he did lightly. “It’s not a matter that they can’t come, it’s more that they won’t.”

She stilled.  “Wow,” she said, her voice small. “I know you said they were unhappy because I’m human, but this?”

“It doesn’t matter-”

“Of course it matters,” Wynneth said sharply, standing up, hands locked behind her head. “They’re your parents, Aric. Damnit. What about your littermates?”

“Arrett is off trading on an Outer Rim world. He can’t make it back in time. Aria’s litter is due in less than a month so she can’t travel,” Jorgan said. Suddenly she felt too far away, so Jorgan reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her on his lap. “But think, we’ll be an aunt and uncle soon, Winnie. We can consider that practice for down the road.”

Her cheeks reddened, which Jorgan decided to take as a good sign. “Good plan,” she said with a slight smile. Jorgan’s stomached ached, that good ache he got whenever he thought about raising a family with Wynneth. Hard to believe that just a couple of years ago, he couldn’t imagine having kids. Now he couldn’t imagine not having them. “But going back to your parents, do you think if I talked to them, it would help? They were so nice to me when I visited you after the Gauntlet mission.”

“That’s because we weren’t together yet,” Jorgan said. “Flirting, yes, but we hadn’t had that first _talk_ yet.” He brushed his lips against her neck, suddenly far more interested in having another conversation.

“Are you okay?” she asked quietly.

The question made him pause, and distracted him from the smooth skin at her neck. “I dunno, Winnie,” he said honestly. “I’m sad and frustrated and I think I’m just disappointed that they’re not even willing to get to know you. They only see you as a non-Cathar.” He wrapped her arms a little more tighter around her waist. “But I didn’t fall in love with a Cathar. I fell in love with you.”

She smiled, like she always did when he said something like that. He really needed to tell her he loved her more. Why he played those cards so close to his chest, he couldn’t quite understand. But when he said them, he truly meant them.

“I love you, too,” Wynneth said, before kissing him on the lips.

He deepened the kiss, ready to think about anything other than his deteriorating relationship with his parents. “Now,” Jorgan said, his hand squeezing her ass. “I believe earlier you mentioned something about handcuffs…”


	7. Round and Round

“I am Vara.”

The Zabrack standing in front of them was one of the shortest ones Wynneth had ever seen. The woman barely came up to her shoulder, even in heels. But she held herself like she was the absolute center of attention.

“Major Wynn-”

“Yes, yes, I know who you are,” Vara said, waving away Wynneth’s outstretched hand. “Practically everyone in the galaxy knows the commander of the famous Havoc Squad. I just need you both to understand that your titles? Your fame? They mean nothing here. Chancellor Saresh hired me to execute her vision for your wedding day and I intend to deliver.”

“Saresh’s vision? It’s our wedding,” Aric snapped.

Vara raised a brow. “That the Republic is paying for.” She gestured to the nearby table. “Shall we sit?”

Wynneth took a breath, trying not to be too annoyed. Of all the things she wanted to be doing right now, sitting in a wedding planner’s office, was last on the list. Everything in the office was white. White floors, white walls, white furniture. Even Vara’s hair was white, tied back in a knot at the back of her neck. “Let’s just get this over with, Aric,” she said softly as they sat down.

“I do appreciate you both coming here this morning. Our schedule is going to be quite full. This office will be working around the clock until your wedding day. We only have four full days left to get everything done,” Vara said, pulling out a holopad. “This morning we’re going to finalize your guest lists and the menu. Major, this afternoon you’ll head to this bridal shop for a dress. Captain, I’m assuming you’ll wear your dress uniform? For the ceremony? If you’d rather wear a tux, we have to move fast.”

“Dress uniform,” Aric said with a grunt.

“If it would save time, I’m happy to wear my dress uniform, too,” Wynneth said. Frankly, she’d prefer it. She never was the type to dress up. “I’ve got the skirt version.”

It was as if all of the warmth went out of the room. Vara looked at her and Wynneth felt like she was under a holoscope. Finally, a forced smile appeared. “Aren’t you precious?” Vara said, her voice flat. “You’re wearing a wedding dress.”

Wynneth looked over at Aric and repeated, in the exact same tone as Vara, “I’m wearing a wedding dress.”

“Can’t wait to see it,” Aric said, squeezing her knee from underneath the table. The gesture didn’t help, and all Wynneth could think about was how apparently Saresh was planning their wedding. Great. Just great. If the Chancellor was willing to shoulder the expense of a huge wedding as some sort of revenge for General Rakton, Wynneth could only image what the woman had planned for the ceremony itself.

“If we’re done with the jokes, we have a schedule to keep,” Vara said sharply. Her voice wasn’t unlike Wynneth’s when she had to deal with Vik. She couldn’t say she appreciated that at all. “I need you two to understand how important this event is.”

“It’s our first wedding ceremony, of _course_ we know,” Wynneth said, not even trying to hide the irritation in her voice.

“This is the chance for the Republic- Wait. What?” Vara said, dropping her holopad on the table. “Your first ceremony?”

Vara’s voice made Wynneth feel like she had been caught cheating in an exam. She stared at the table while Aric said, his voice defensive, “We’ll be having a second wedding on Rendili, a Cathar ceremony.”

Vara put her hands on her chest. “You two just about gave me a heart attack. Species specific weddings are all the rage now, so if the news gets out, not the end of the galaxy,” she said, elbows on the table as she rested her chin on intertwined fingers. “That being said, I really don’t want that news getting out. It will take some of the shine off of this wedding, so please just keep that to yourselves.”

“Done,” Aric said while Wynneth hid a smile behind the palm of her hand. Not tell anyone about their ceremony on Rendili? That would be just about the easiest assignment they ever had.

“Now the guest list. You have your details?” Vara asked.

Wynneth brought out a holopad with the names and frequencies for the ten whole people they were allowed to invite to their own wedding. The squad took up four places, meaning they had six people they could invite. In the end, they decided just to invite General Garza, Lieutenant Mai, and Jonas Balkar, letting them all bring a plus one.

Vara’s nose wrinkled slightly as she picked up the holopad, and Wynneth wondered how in the galaxy a holopad had offended her. As Vara looked over the list, her eyes lit up. “General Garza is already invited, so we can take her off your list. Perfect.”

“That mean we can invite someone else?” Aric asked. He turned towards her. “Torve’s on Coruscant right now. Wouldn’t mind inviting-”

Vara cleared her throat. “I needed two more invitations for some dignitaries, so we will be putting these to good use.”

“You needed two more?” Wynneth asked, her stomach sinking. “Isn’t the wedding in the Garden of Justice? You can fit a lot of people-”

“It’s important that there are seats for everyone,” Vara said, tilting her head. “There will be a peanut gallery, so to speak, but I need _seats._ ”

“Just how many people will be at this thing?” Aric asked. He sounded like he didn’t want to know the answer, a feeling Wynneth understood perfectly.

“Seated? Two thousand, eight hundred and eighty. Then there will be special invite-only viewing parties set up around Coruscant. We’ve issued about seven thousand invites for those.”

 Two thousand, eight hundred and eighty. The number practically made Wynneth’s mind spin. Almost three thousand people would be watching her as she wed Aric. The Cathar had the right idea. Two people wanting to marry in front of the elders. No one else allowed. That she could handle. This? She didn’t know if she could handle this.

“That’s a lot more than I expected,” Aric said, sounding slightly dazed as he leaned back in his chair. “And out of that you only let us invite ten people?”

Vara crossed her arms over her chest. “Clearly I need to spell this out for you. Yes, you are the two getting married. But this wedding is not about you,” Vara said slowly. “This is about the Republic and giving Chancellor Saresh a chance to show off. Her popularity numbers aren’t quite what she wanted. So throwing a flashy wedding for two Republic heroes is _exactly_ what she needs right now and neither one of you are going to mess this up.”

Wynneth locked eyes with Aric and she could tell from his sour expression that they thought the same thing. “Let’s get this over with then,” Wynneth said. “Finalizing the menu is next, right?”

Vara’s face relaxed into a smile. “I told the Chancellor you two wouldn’t be any trouble,” she said, sliding a holopad across the table. “Here’s what’s planned. Showing you two is really more of a courtesy than anything else. The chefs are already preparing the meals.”

The various meals planned looked delicious. Bantha steaks with yellow legumes and lentils, salmon with wild rice and chickpeas, roasted vegetable pasta. A desert table with enough deserts that Wynneth didn’t even recognize half of the names.

“I’m allergic to tomatoes,” Aric said as they looked over the holopad. “Looks like they’re in the sauce for the steak.”

“That’s why there are three choices for meals,” Vara said. She sighed, a long suffering sigh, as if Aric just made her world impossibly difficult. “Let me guess. You want the steak. Without the sauce.” She started furiously making notes in her holopad. “No promises, but I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thanks,” Aric said. Wynneth recognized that voice. He was _pissed_ and trying to control it. She placed her hand on top of his - still resting on her knee - and gave him a gentle squeeze. In five days this would be over, and they could put it behind them. But she had a feeling it would be a long, long, _long_ five days.

#

“I still can’t believe they’re making me wear a dress,” Wynneth said as she looked at the shop in front of her.

“Well, I still can’t believe you don’t want to wear a pretty dress,” Elara said with a slightly pained expression on her face. “Besides, it’s tradition that a woman wears a wedding gown. A bit archaic, certainly. But _tradition._ ”

“If Saresh tries to make me wear heels…” Wynneth said, already sure that heels would be part of the get up. “Want to bet that Saresh won’t even let me choose my own wedding dress?”

Elara looked down at the ground. “No bet, sir. They’ve planned everything else already. I can’t imagine they’ll give you the liberty to make your own decision.”

In the display windows of the shop, all Wynneth would see were poufy ball gowns with far too much satin and lace. “Let’s get this over with,” Wynneth said, taking Elara’s arm in hers.

The door opened automatically and upon stepping inside, they were surrounded by dresses, not a single one of them simple, which would be Wynneth’s first choice. Her mind lingered on the simple robe she would wear for the Cathar ceremony, already ordered and would be waiting for pickup when they made it to Rendili. Just a plain dark brown linen robe. She couldn’t wait.

“Sir, take a look at this,” Elara said, her voice full of excitement. “This is perfect.”

Wynneth followed Elara’s voice and found herself standing in front of a dress. White, which was the most popular color for wedding dresses on Coruscant these days. The material almost looked matte, without any of the shimmer or sheen of the rest of the dresses in the shop. Three-quarter length sleeves and a full skirt, covered in thick embroidery. “There’s plenty of room for a thigh holster with this dress,” Wynneth said.

“Do not tell me you plan on going to your wedding armed,” Elara said.

“That many people? That many important people in one space? Of course I’m going to be armed,” Wynneth said matter of factly. “Aric’s furious because he’s not going to be able to wear a blaster with his dress uniform. It’d be too visible. So he’s going to have a technoknife in his boot.”

“Fine,” Elara said, shaking her head. “Put it that way and now I want to be armed as well. I should be able to use a thigh holster with my dress.”

Behind them, someone cleared their throat. Sensing that it was time to deal with the dress, Wynneth turned to face a Mirilian and a Togruta, both lovely to look at, not to mention impeccably dressed. She glanced down at her plain black knee-length skirt paired with a light blue hoodie and flip-flops and felt distinctly under-dressed.

“Major Hindemith, it’s an honor to meet you,” the Togruta said, hand on her heart. “To think our humble shop is the one where you will procure your gown for the wedding of the decade…” Wynneth tried to smile, but failed. She had been hearing ‘wedding of the decade’ more and more lately. She didn’t like it. At all. “But where are my manners? I’m Madame Zola, the owner of this establishment, and this is my assistant, Chelei.”

“Nice to meet you both,” Wynneth said. “This is Lieutenant Dorne of Havoc Squad.”

“Charming,” Zola said with a smile. The woman had whiter teeth than some of the dresses. “Now, if you’ll just follow me, I’ll show you your dress.”

Wynneth’s shoulders slumped. “Well, actually, I really like this dress here,” she said, fingering the embroidery on the full skirt.

“There are pockets, sir,” Elara whispered. “Pockets.”

Zola’s face seemed to fall. “Normally, I firmly believe that every person should pick out their own wedding outfit, except in this case, you see…”

Wynneth closed her eyes. She didn’t even want to think what Saresh must have chosen for her to wear. “Let’s not make this any harder than it has to be,” she said with a sigh. Gone were the visions of wearing a comfortable wedding dress with a sidepiece close by. “Let’s see what sort of dress Saresh wants me in.”

“It’s the very latest in Coruscant fashion,” Chelei said, nodding her head. “You’ll be absolutely on trend.”

“Because that is so me,” Wynneth said, not even bothering to hide the sarcasm in her voice. “Always on trend.”

Zola didn’t seem to have any sort of answer, with a wave her hand, she started to walk towards the back of the store. As they passed dress after dress, Wynneth didn’t see a single one she actually would want to wear to the grocery store, let alone her wedding. But she and Aric agreed that they would just do whatever they could to get through this week with a minimum of fuss. Then the day after the wedding, they would be on a transport to Rendili, and hopefully they could forget all about this.

They led her into a small room, a mannequin in the corner, wearing what must be the dress Saresh picked out for her. The Chancellor must truly hate her. It was white, almost blindly so. Strapless, with a bodice covered in sequins and tiny pearls. The dress looked to be form fitting to the knees, then flared out widely in what looked to be feathers. Wynneth wouldn’t have chosen this dress to wear to her wedding if it was the last dress on Coruscant. She’d rather go naked.

Elara walked up to the mannequin, circling it slowly. “The bead work is astonishing,” she said. “You’ll have to be quite careful, though. Will she be able to sit in this?”

“As long as you sit slowly and in a controlled manner, you’ll be fine,” Zola said, clasping her hands in front of her. “Let’s try it on.”

It took all three of them to help Wynneth into the dress. Chelei held the feathered bottom while Elara held her hand, helping with balance as Wynneth stepped into the opened dress that Zola held. Once Elara buttoned the bodice in the back, Zola helped her to the mirror.

“No room for a thigh holster in this dress,” Wynneth said, hearing the glumness in her voice. She just wanted to be armed at her wedding. Was that so bad?

“Surely you have a holster that fits around your calf?” Elara said. Wynneth bit her lip, trying not to look too hopeful. “You can borrow mine.”

“Don’t know what I would do without your, Elara,” Wynneth said.

Wynneth looked at herself in the mirror. Growing up, she never was the type of girl to dream about her wedding. Her mother hadn’t married until Wynneth was twelve, so it was just one of those childhood dreams she missed out on. Once she joined the army, she assumed if she did get married, it would be a quick ceremony in front of the army chaplain, probably wearing her dress uniform.

So to see herself kitted out in a full wedding gown felt absolutely surreal. “Wow,” was the only thing Wynneth could think to say that might not hurt Zola and Chelei’s feelings. She looked absolutely ridiculous.

Zola picked up a holopad and started taking some notes. “Chelei will be doing the alterations herself and I’ll be coordinating jewelry. Your hair will be down-”

“I always wear a bun,” Wynneth said, putting her hand on her chest, not liking that she felt skin instead of a comfortable t-shirt. “It’s never down in public.”

“It will be for the wedding,” Zola said, sounding apologetic. “I have a choker necklace that you’ll wear along with some gorgeous feather earrings.”

Wynneth coughed as she fingered her necklace, the necklace she had hardly taken off since Aric had given it to her. “I don’t have pierced ears.”

“I heard about that story,” Elara said with a laugh. “Aric gave you earrings?”

“He was so embarrassed once he realized.”

“Clip-ons, then,” Zola said, seemingly not dissuaded in the least. “We’ll have them made. Then you’ll have white elbow gloves with a thick cuff bracelet on each wrist. You’ll look like a living piece of art when I’m done.”

“But will I look like myself?” Wynneth asked with a sigh. Sadly, she already knew the answer to that question.

Five days to go.


	8. On Top of the World

“So I hear Saresh is hosting a rehearsal dinner without us.”

Wynneth looked up from her workstation, her neck aching as she did. Just how long had she been staring at these reports? She might be getting married tomorrow, she still needed to keep up with the latest SpecForce intelligence. “I’m sure we should be insulted, but frankly, I’m just glad we don’t have to be there,” she said. “The actual rehearsal today was plenty.”

“Agreed,” Aric said, walking into their quarters. He stood behind her, and without even needing her to prompt, started massaging her shoulders. Wynneth had to bite back a moan as his fingers dug into her tired muscles. “You’re way more tense than you were the other day. You okay?”

She leaned forward, resting her arms on the desk as she cradled her head in her hands. “Yeah,” she said, knowing that was a lie, and she never wanted to lie to Aric. “No. I don’t even know any more.”

“That’s a lot of options there, Winnie,” Aric said. She heard him move behind her and felt his hand on top of hers. Looking to the side, Wynneth saw him squatting down next to her, concern clearly written on his face. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m probably just being dramatic,” Wynneth said. She stood up, not letting go of Aric’s hand as she walked over to the bed. He followed, and a moment after she flopped back on the bed, he did the same. Turning to face him, she placed her hand on his stomach, feeling his abdomen muscles easily under his button-down shirt. “This just isn’t how I expected our wedding.”

“You don’t say,” Aric said dryly. “This isn’t even about us. This is about Saresh scoring political points. Frustrating as all hell.”

The last five days had been an absolute blur. She and Aric had been rushed from sartorial fittings to food tastings to meet-and-greets with some of the most powerful people in the galaxy. All of them on Coruscant to watch her and Aric say their wedding vows tomorrow. “I know we still have the ceremony on Rendili, but I wanted this one to be special, too,” she said, untucking his shirt and running her nails down his stomach in that way he liked. “At least the squad will be there, even if our families aren’t.”

One thing to look forward to, at least. She had seen the entire squad in their dress uniforms before, though Elara planned on wearing a ball gown tomorrow. A professional holographer would be taking pictures after the wedding - the event planner warned them that holos would take at least three hours; everyone would want their picture with the happy couple - but Wynneth would have to make sure they took a squad holo, too.

“Oh, but don’t forget the live feed, where billions of our closest friends will be watching over the holonet,” Aric said, shaking his head. “You know what we should have done? Second we realized what was going on, we should have gone to…” Wynneth waited for him to finish his sentence, and when he didn’t, she dug her nails into his hide. Aric rolled away before jumping up off of the bed. “I’m brilliant.”

“Clearly,” Wynneth said with a laugh, a real laugh that she felt all the way to her toes. “But is there a specific reason why you’re brilliant?”

Aric didn’t answer, but instead walked over to the intercom by the door. “Havoc squad, meet up at the ship’s holoterminal,” he said, his voice gruff and serious. “Now.”

“What in the galaxy are you doing?” she asked as she sat up on the bed.

“Making tomorrow better,” Aric said, walking back to the bed with his hands out.

“You just called a Havoc squad meeting,” Wynneth said as she placed her hands in his. As she let him pull her up, she added, “Gonna fill me in? I do happen to be the commander of said squad.”

He kissed her before she even had a chance to respond. Wynneth relaxed against him, wondering if this would feel different tomorrow, after the wedding. She hoped not, because right now it was basically perfect. When Aric ended the kiss, he said, “XO privilege. You’ll find out soon enough.”

“Alright,” she said, squeezing his hand. She thought about not letting go. Vik could make fun of them all he wanted. Tomorrow, she and Aric were getting _married_. But the last thing she wanted was to make him uncomfortable.

The squad stood around the terminal as she and Aric exited their quarters. “Forex,” Aric said, “how quickly can you become a licensed wedding officiant on the holonet?

“Sir?” Forex asked, sounding as confused as Wynneth felt. “It’s quite simple to become licensed. There is a great deal of competition, so the credit fee is minimal.”

“But how long would it take?” Aric asked.

Forex stayed silence for a few moments, then stretched out its arms. “I am now a registered wedding officiant for anywhere in Republic space.”

Aric turned towards her, his face as serious as she’d ever seen. “Let’s get married,” he said, his voice low. “Let’s get married right now and then we won’t even have to worry about tomorrow.”

Closing her eyes, Wynneth covered her mouth with her hands. Perfect. Aric’s idea was absolutely perfect. Tomorrow could be awful as they thought it would be and they wouldn’t even have to care since they would be _married._ She was about to become his wife and he her husband. Life couldn’t get much better than this. “Yes,” she said, her laugh bright as she took a step back to look at Aric. “Yes, let’s do it. Marry us, Forex.”

Elara cleared her throat. “As much as I love the idea of impromptu ceremony, I do feel the need to point out, that Major, you’re wearing a hoodie.”

“And tomorrow I’m wearing a dress that leaves me practically unrecognizable,” Wynneth said, looking down at her bright orange Havoc squad hoodie. “With this at least Aric knows he’s marrying the right woman.”

“Do I even want to know?” Aric asked, his voice sounding slightly alarmed.

Wynneth put a finger to his lips. “You’ll see tomorrow,” she said, trying to not think about the dress too hard. “Assuming that you’ll want to still marry me after you see me in that get-up.”

“They really should have just let you wear your dress uniform-”

“Thank you,” Wynneth said, throwing up her hands. “That’s exactly what I said, but no, I have to wear a dress. So marry me now so I don’t have to worry you’ll run out the door tomorrow.”

Aric took her both hands, more than a little surprising considering how careful they were not to show displays of affection in front of the squad. Then again, they were about to get married. “You don’t need to worry about that,” he said, his voice serious. But the look in his eyes… The love and trust and hint of lust she saw there went straight to her core. They needed to get married ASAP so they could start enjoying their wedding night.

“Can I record this?” Vik asked, his arms crossed over his chest. “This will make me a killing. You know how much I could sell the vid rights for?”

“No,” Wynneth and Aric said at the same time, not taking their eyes off each other.

“Forex,” Aric said quietly. “Marry us.”

Forex moved to stand in front of them, while Yuun walked over to Wynneth’s side. The Findsman whispered something the translators couldn’t catch, then stood with his hands clasped in front of him. Elara stood next to Aric, looking quite pleased, while Vik stayed off to the side, leaning against the wall.

“Friends, today we witness the marriage between Wynneth Jean Hindemith and Aric Nessar Jorgan, two of the best Special Forces Operatives the Republic has ever known,” Forex said.

“Knock it off with the hyperbole, Forex,” Aric said with a chuckle.

Forex squatted in that strange way it had. “I am not prone to exaggeration, sir. You two are the finest SpecForce soldiers in the Republic, nay the galaxy,” Forex said, extending his arms. “And with your union, you will become even more of a fearsome fighting unit, because you will not be just fighting on behalf of the citizens of the Republic, but also for each other.”

Wynneth squeezed Aric’s hands. She told him once it would take an army to pry her away from him, and she meant it. Every word.

“Sirs, I have scanned over a thousand wedding books since purchasing my officiating license. Sixty-two percent encourage that the intendants of the ceremony say their own vows instead of pre-scripted vows. Traditionally the groom speaks first. Captain?”

Aric’s eyes opened wide, looking slightly uncomfortable. “We don’t have to, Aric,” Wynneth said quickly. She didn’t much relish the thought of speaking words from her heart in front of other people, even if they were her squad. Granted, she’d have to think of things to say other than _I love you._

“No, I want to,” Aric said, swallowing hard. Wynneth stilled as he took a slight step forward so that there was hardly any space between them. “You know I was in a bad place after we met. But somehow, working next to you every day, I pulled myself up. You helped with that. A lot.” He looked down for a moment and Wynneth wondered if he was finished, but then he added, “Sometimes I look back and I want to be furious with Tavus and all the other traitors, but I can’t any more. Because that led me to you. And I can’t imagine my life without you. I will fight by your side every day, for as long as the galaxy lets us.”

Wynneth smiled, her heart near ready to burst. “Hopefully for a really long time,” she whispered.

“Yeah,” he said, his voice barely more than a puff of air. Aric straightened. “That’s all I’ve got.”

“Major?”

She was suddenly far too aware of the rest of the squad watching her. She had so many things she wanted to say, so many thing she could say, but Wynneth had no desire to be here for the next year. “You… you surprised me,” Wynneth said, looking Aric in the eye. “I knew after we left Coruscant for the first time that I could trust you. And I knew after the Gauntlet that I could love you.” She took a breath and tried to gather her thoughts, which seemed determined not to stay in any sort of coherency. “I know we might not be on the same squad forever, but I know you’ll always be watching my six. And I’ll always be watching yours. You’re the best friend and partner I could ever ask for.” She looked away for a moment, tearing up, but then she decided she wouldn’t bother to hide her tears. Not when she was happier than she ever thought possible. “Short and sweet, right?”

“Captain, do you take this woman as your wife, to honor in word and deed, and to cherish for the rest of your days?” Forex asked.

Aric squeezed her hands as he said, “I do.”

“Major, do you take this man as your husband, to honor in word and deed, and to cherish for the rest of your days?”

Over the course of her life, Wynneth had made a lot of choices. Some good, some bad. But never had she been so sure of her choice when she said, “I do.”

“May your bond transcend time, distance, and all barriers between,” Forex said, extending his arms. “You are now wed so you may now kiss. The Imperials will hear of this union and quake in their boots!”

Their first kiss as husband and wife was brief, but Wynneth tried to will every single second to memory. She knew that someday, bad things would happen. Bad things always happened to soldiers in the end, but moments like these made those future hypothetical bad things bearable.

Even once the kiss ended, they stayed close together. “Looks like we’re married,” Aric said quietly, though she could hear the smile in his voice.

“Looks like,” Wynneth answered with a laugh before pressing another quick kiss to his lips. He was her husband now. Her _husband._

“Congratulations, sirs,” Elara said, pulling them both into a hug. Somehow Aric managed not to let go of her hand. “I’m truly so happy for you both. I’m going to grab a bottle of champagne so we can have a toast.”

“Yuun hopes that the path you two will tread together from here on out will be navigated with ease and that you easily overcome any hardships in your way,” Yuun said.

With her free hand, Wynneth clasped Yuun on the shoulder. “Thank you, Yuun. That means a lot coming from you.”

“Just don’t be too loud, celebrating your wedding night,” Vik said, looking content to stay next to the wall. “Gotta get up early tomorrow. Couple of deals I need to finalize before the big shing ding. Looking forward to the choice eats.”

Aric tensed at Vik’s words so Wynneth leaned forward. “Not worth it, Aric,” she said softly, just so he could hear. “You know it’s soundproof.”

“Damn right it is,” Aric said, ignoring Vik.

Elara walked out of the galley with a bottle of champagne under her arm and holding flavored hydration spray for Yuun, along with five disposable cups. Forex couldn’t drink, but they did always include it in the toasts, which Wynneth thought it appreciated.

“Now that you’re hitched, you two gonna be lovey dovey like this all the time?” Vik asked, his voice edging on a taunt. “Only want to know cause all this sweetness is giving me a toothache.”

“No one’s making you stick around, Vik,” Wynneth said, wrapping her arm around Aric’s waist for good measure. This wouldn’t become the new normal for her and Aric, she could almost guarantee it. But for one night, she would let herself just not worry about keeping her hands to herself.

Elara handed Vik his cup of champagne. “Have you ever known me to turn down a free drink, boss?” Vik said with a smirk.

“Ignore him, sir,” Elara said, giving Wynneth her cup. Wynneth never really liked the taste of champagne, hated it really, but tonight, she would gladly drink a glass. Or in this case, a cup which would then be recycled.

“Hey, I’m here, I’m being happy for the happy couple. What more you want from me?” Vik asked.

Once everyone had a glass, Elara cleared her throat. “I haven’t taken much from Dromund Kaas, you all know that. But there is a popular toast I do like.” Elara raised her cup and the rest of the squad followed. “Major, Captain, may your union last longer than the stars in the sky. To Wynneth and Aric.”

Aric’s hand found hers as they all raised their cups for the toast. Wynneth simply smiled as Elara, Yuun, Forex, and even Vik - though she thought he only joined in so he could say their names; Vik was funny about authority that way - said, “To Wynneth and Aric.”

Cups and hydration spray came together, then separated so they could all take a sip. Wynneth brought the cup to her lips, wondering if this cup of champagne celebrating her own wedding might taste different. She took a sip and forced back a grimace. Nope, she still didn’t like champagne.

Aric lifted his cup again. “And may tomorrow not be the complete circus we know it will be,” he said.

“I’ll drink to that,” Wynneth said, lifting her cup in another toast. Maybe a second sip would help? She took a sip. No, it did not. To distract herself from the taste of the champagne, she stood on tiptoes, pressing her lips against Aric’s. “You’re my husband,” she whispered.

He smiled, one Wynneth didn’t get to see nearly enough. Aric spent so much time perfecting that gruff persona of his, but she was lucky enough to know the man behind it. She knew his heart, which was even more beautiful than he was. Resting his brow against hers, Aric said softly, “You’re my wife. That sounds pretty damn good, doesn’t it.”

“Sirs, in reviewing Republic marital law, I discovered that there is a twenty-four hour grace period before names need to be entered into the database,” Forex said. Wynneth chuckled. Of course he had become an expert in all things marriage. “I will enter your names in the database after tomorrow’s ceremony. Then no one will be the wiser that your marriage actually started today.”

“Thanks, Forex,” Aric said. “Appreciate it, buddy.”

Forex practically beamed. “Always an honor to help my fellow squad members.”

Wynneth knew she should talk with the squad, celebrate with them a bit. But the only thing she truly wanted at this very moment was to get Aric back into their quarters so they could enjoy their impromptu wedding night. Any worry about tomorrow had ended. It could be the worst event she had ever participated in and she wouldn’t care in the slightest, because they were already _married._

Aric apparently had the same idea. “You know, we’ve got an early start tomorrow. We should probably turn in.” He turned to her, a questioning look on his face. “You okay with that?”

Nodding, she said, “I was just thinking the same thing. I’m pretty tired.” Wynneth waited for Vik to make some crude comment, but remarkably, he simply took another sip from his cup. But she saw the smirk. “Thank you, all of you, for sharing this with us. And thank you for putting up with tomorrow. I really hope the food makes it all worthwhile.”

Everyone started saying goodnight as Wynneth and Aric walked back to their quarters, hand in hand, ready to celebrate in private.


	9. All for You

“Happy not our wedding day,” Wynneth whispered.

Jorgan stretched his arms over his head, a smile on his face. “We got time for a quickie?” he asked as he reached out for his holopad.

“You do,” Wynneth said as she sat up. Jorgan pulled the sheet away from her, letting his gaze linger on her breasts. Her hair was down, an absolute mess, and he had to stop himself from reaching out and start grooming. “I, sadly, don’t.”

“Damn,” he said, getting out of bed, holopad in hand. Nothing urgent came in overnight. It was like the Republic Army decided to take the night off. Tossing the holopad on his bed, Jorgan threw on some workout clothes. According to the schedule Vara had given him, he was free until three o’clock in the afternoon, when he had to be at the Senate Tower. Considering it was seven in the morning, he might as well get in a good workout.

Wynneth nodded. Looking away, she said, her voice sad, “You’re not even going to recognize me tonight.”

“Good thing we got married last night, then, isn’t it?” Jorgan asked. Part of him still couldn’t believe that they were now husband and wife. Maybe it really wouldn’t sink in until they said the vows on Rendili. But it was real. She was his wife.

The smile on Wynneth’s face made his morning. She stood up, still smiling, as she twisting her torso a few times. “I need to be at the spa in less than an hour. I better get going,” she said as she started putting on some clothes.

The spa mention made Jorgan think. “Winnie, not that it’s any of my business and really my opinion doesn’t matter at all…” Jorgan trailed off. Stupid to bring this up now, when they were both stressed from what today’s ceremony would be like. “Never mind. We’ll talk about it later.”

“No, we’ll talk about it now,” Wynneth said as she pulled her hair back in a messy bun. “Because otherwise I’m going to be fixating on whatever it is you wanted to say and that’s not fair.”

“You’re right, sorry,” Jorgan said. He kept trying to break that bad habit of his, telling her he wanted to talk without any reason behind it. Even knowing it made her anxiety spike couldn’t quite break him of it. “I was just wondering, I guess. You gonna grow out your body hair again once this is all done?”

Wynneth let out a delighted laugh, making him smile, even though he wasn’t quite sure why his question made her so happy. “Yes,” she said, walking over him. Jorgan stood still as she kissed him hard. “I promise, after tonight, I will not be shaving or waxing any part of my body again.”

Jorgan kept himself from saying _good_. It didn’t matter what he liked, but he really did prefer when she didn’t shave. If not shaving made Wynneth happy, too, then all the better. “Just checking.”

“Thank you for loving my hairy legs and pits,” Wynneth said with a smile. “Now, I really do need to get going. See you at the end of the wedding processional.”

#

From a security standpoint, this ceremony was a disaster waiting to happen. Jorgan knew there were undercover SpecForces among the guests. He thought he might have even seen a seam in the air behind him, meaning there might be a protective forcefield around the Garden. His trained eye even found a couple of snipers on top of the Senate Tower. But all these Senators and dignitaries in one place? Jorgan didn’t think it was worth the risk. Though it would explain why there was only a week between the announcement and the ceremony. Wouldn’t give the Imps enough time to figure out any sort of feasible plan to disrupt things.

“Nervous?”

Jorgan glanced over at newly appointed Supreme Commander Jace Malcom, who looked just as uncomfortable in his dress uniform as he did. “Nah,” Jorgan said. And that was the truth. No need to be nervous when they were already married. “Not about marrying Wynneth, at least.”

Malcom let out a gruff laugh. “I’m probably more nervous having to be the one to marry you two, then,” he said.”

“I am nervous about this crowd, though,” Jorgan admitted, his eyes scanning the audience. Almost three thousand people stood in the Garden of Justice. Apparently everyone who was everyone wanted an invitation, Vara said. Some people were even selling their invitations on the holonet for thousands of credits.

“You’re not the only one,” Malcom said. “You armed?”

“Just a technoknife,” Jorgan said, trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice.

“I found a slim blaster, fits right into my boot. Find me tonight, and I’ll send you the holonet link for the store,” Malcom said.

That sounded perfect. “Absolutely,” Jorgan said. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Vara flash him a sign. “That’s my cue. We’re about to start.” With a deep breath, he walked to the edge of the platform, right at the top of a set of six stairs. The platform had been constructed in the past week so that everyone in the audience would be able to see the ceremony.

Music started playing, a bright brass instrument of some type, and almost out of instinct, Jorgan stood at attention. Any moment, his girl would come into view. Over the last three years, he has seen her dressed up a couple of times. That awards ceremony after they took out Rakton and a couple of nicer dinner dates. But today would be something different.

Down at the end of the aisle, he saw her, too far away to see any details. From this distance, all he could tell was that the dress was white and that it would be awfully hard to run in if the ceremony went pear-shaped. But each step brought her closer to him. Also gave him a better look at his wife.

Wynneth’s hair was down, which Jorgan knew for a fact she hated doing in public. Balancing on her head was some sort of ridiculous looking hat shaped like a bird. Her makeup was severe, heavy on the eyeliner with bright red lipstick. It looked like they even went heavy on the concealer, trying to cover up her facial scarring. She didn’t look like herself at all. Made him happier than ever that he thought to have Forex marry them last night instead of today. Hopefully, once all of this was over, they could step back and have a good laugh.

The instructions Vara gave him were quite specific: wait at the top of the stairs until Wynneth made it up next to him, then offer his arm. Together, they would walk up to Malcom and the ceremony would start. Wynneth still had a bit of aisle to march down, so Jorgan gave the front of the crowd a quick scan. Saresh was right in front, of course, wearing a bright purple outfit. He saw Garza but no sign of the squad or any of the people they were allowed to invite. If he had to guess, they’d be way in the back.

A holorecorder started buzzing around him and Jorgan had to fight from flinching or shooing it out of the way. To distract himself from the drone, not to mention the fact that maybe close to an estimated billion people might be watching the ceremony right now, he focused on Wynneth.

She made it to the bottom of the stairs, then paused. A moment passed and Wynneth didn’t move. Looking up at him, Jorgan could see something on her face he didn’t expect to see. Not today. He saw fear. And then she mouthed ‘help’ at him and realization struck.

Vara’s rules be damned. Jorgan jogged down the stairs and took Wynneth’s hand. She had told him about the ridiculous heels they were making her wear today. Barefoot, Wynneth came up to his chin. With these heels, they were almost the same height. Little wonder she didn’t want to go up the stairs, especially considering there was no railing to hold on to. Well, he would be her railing if he had to be.

One stair at a time, they made their way up to the top of the platform. “Thank you,” she whispered, squeezing his hand.

With her hand in his, Jorgan didn’t want to let go. So together they walked up to Malcom, ready to promise to honor and cherish each other.

Again.

#

“Oh, stars, I have to pee, where is Elara?”

Holding back a laugh, Jorgan put his hand on Wynneth’s cheek. “My beautiful bride,” he said. “Always the epitome of class.”

“Don’t make me laugh, I’ll pee myself,” she said, standing up. If Saresh had done anything right regarding their wedding, it was that they had a table at the reception all to themselves. Even better, it was off to the side, leaving the head table, where Saresh currently held court, the focus of the room.

“Maybe I could help you,” Jorgan said, even as he sent off a quick message to Elara on his holocom. “Then we could have some newlywed fun.” Elara responded almost instantly. “She’s on her way.”

“Thank you,” Wynneth said with a sigh as she pulled up those ridiculous gloves she was wearing. “You remember Vara’s rule. One of us has to be in this room at all times.”

Jorgan rolled his eyes. “We haven’t had any time alone since this morning,” he grumbled.

“I’m here, sir!” Elara called out as she approached the table. Gal cleaned up good, Jorgan thought approvingly. She wore a light blue dress, made of some sort of floaty material. “I’ve also had one too many drinks, so you’ll need to talk me out of making a very bad decision regarding Jonas Balkar.”

Wynneth took Elara’s arm and started heading towards the exit. As she did, she said, “No, I’m going to talk you into making a very bad decision, because then I want details.”

Funny to think once upon a time Jorgan hated Balkar. Probably, no, _definitely_ hated him because of the way he flirted with Wynneth. Well, if Elara did decide to go hook up with Balkar, hopefully it wouldn’t end poorly. Havoc squad needed him as a source in the SIS.

No one seemed to be paying Jorgan any attention, so he decided to check his messages on his holocom. Both his littermates wrote congratulating him. There was a message from his aunt, one of his mom’s littermates, which surprised him. His aunt was always more on the progressive side, so maybe she could talk his mom into acceptance. He doubted it, though. One day, his parents would have to see reason. They had to.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Vara approaching the table. Feeling like he got caught red-handed, he slipped his holocom into the back pocket of his dress uniform trousers. The collar was beginning to be unbearable, but compared to the getup Wynneth was in, he couldn’t complain to much. Besides, only a couple of hours to go, and then they’d be in a hotel room for the night, far away from the rest of the world.

“Where’s the Major?” Vara asked, her eyes wide. “We’re about to bring out the desert table.”

“Bathroom,” Jorgan said.

Vara pinched the bridge of her nose. “That was why I told her not to drink anything tonight,” she said, sounding pained. “I’ll have to stall them.” Jorgan debated messaging Elara, but then Vara ran off and he decided that, frankly, he didn’t care. He and Wynneth were married and tomorrow they’d be on their way to Rendili. They had given Saresh exactly what they wanted, a chance to show off.

Five or so minutes passed before Wynneth made it back to the table. “All better?” Jorgan asked, taking her hand as she sat down. “Vara was not pleased you disappeared.”

“Then she should have put bathroom breaks in that schedule of hers,” Wynneth said, shrugging a shoulder.

He looked at Wynneth’s face. Then looked again. He was right the first time. Wynneth had removed most of her makeup. “Vara is gonna kill you…” he said, tracing the outline of her jaw with a finger.

“I’m going rogue,” Wynneth said, taking off one of the large cuff bracelets decorating her wrist. “You’re either with me or against me.”

“With you, of course,” Jorgan said. “What do you need me to do?”

She slid her arm across his shoulders. “You willing to kiss me in front of all these people?”

“They’re not even paying attention to us anymore,” Jorgan said, leaning forward and kissing her softly. He put his hand on her cheek and the ring on his finger caught his eye. Such a strange human tradition, letting complete strangers know your marital status with a piece of jewelry. But Wynneth wanted them to exchange rings, and he was more than willing to, if it made her happy. He wouldn’t wear it on a regular basis - rings just weren’t practical for soldiers - but he’d break it out on special occasions.

“You know, you’re quite handsome all dressed up,” Wynneth said, keeping her arm around his shoulder. “Wish I could have worn my dress uniform, too.”

“You look beautiful,” Jorgan said, fighting off the urge to nuzzle her cheek. That’d have to wait until they had some privacy. “Granted, I had no idea who you were when you walked up to me, but damn beautiful.” She smiled, a smile that lit up her entire face, and without the makeup and with her hair pulled back in a braid, Wynneth looked like herself again. “Beautiful.”

Looking at Wynneth, it was easy to ignore everything around them but her. People were milling around the tables, talking over the sound of a live band in the corner of the room. But right now, Jorgan didn’t think about any of them. Just his lifemate.

“You’re staring,” she said.

He could easily point out that she was staring just as much as he was. Instead, he said, “You’re easy to stare at.”

“That’s a horrible line,” Wynneth said, her cheeks reddening. Damn, he loved to make her blush. “Keep ‘em coming.”

A sudden flash of a holocamera ruined the mood. Jorgan sat up straight, closing his eyes from the light. “Sorry!” a Twi’lek with purple ribbons wrapped around her lekku said, not sounding sorry at all. “Needed a good shot for my story. That was perfect.”

“Happy to help,” Wynneth said, clearly not happy to help in the slightest.

And of course, that’s when Vara walked up to the table. The Zabrak took one look at Wynneth and covered her mouth with her hand. “There are still pictures to take,” she said, her voice like ice. Rummaging through her handbag, she added, “You’re lucky I brought makeup with me. Now come with me.”

“You better do it, babe,” Jorgan said in Wynneth’s ear. They had agreed to play the part until Vara said they could leave, which according to his schedule would be in two hours and fifteen minutes. Not that he was counting. Much.

“Sorry, Vara,” Wynneth said, sounding almost contrite as she stood up. Jorgan watched her walk. The dress she wore might be horrible for mobility and he certainly wondered where she was packing - because he had no doubt his lifemate was packing - but _damn_ did it make her ass look good.

Jorgan wondered when their plates had been cleared; he hadn’t even noticed the servers. Granted, he only had eyes for Wynneth at the moment. He reprimanded himself for that. An event like that, he really needed to be paying more attention to his surroundings.

A diplomat or a senator or someone with enough clout to be here tonight walked up to the table and Jorgan had to keep himself from groaning. He was awful at this meet and greet stuff. But he’d try. Thankfully Vara intervened. “It’s time to cut the cake. If either of you even think of putting cake in the other’s face, I will have Saresh revoke your Republic citizenship.”

Wynneth smiled at him. The red lips were back, along with her hair falling down her back. “I think we’re safe,” Jorgan said, taking Wynneth’s outstretched hand. “No cake fights.”

Vara sighed, scooting them along. “Finally something might go right.”

#

“Hurry up and open the door,” Wynneth said, pushing up against him.

Jorgan bit back a moan as she started to suck on his neck. “Be a lot easier if I could think,” he said, fumbling around with the old fashioned key. Finally he managed to get the door open and they practically fell into their hotel room.

They might be newlyweds, but they were still SpecForce soldiers. Jorgan stepped away from Wynneth as he took out his holocom, sweeping the room for bugs. He absolutely wouldn’t put it past Saresh to insist on bugging the room. As the program ran, he took a look around the room. “Damn nice room they gave us,” he said.

“I checked the price of one night here, for fun,” Wynneth said, sitting down at a vanity with a mirror. The first thing she did was take off that ridiculous bird hat. “We can’t afford this place and between us, and we’re doing okay, credit wise.”

His holocom beeped, giving the all clear. “No bugs. We’re good,” he said, putting down the comm on a table. “Now let’s get undressed.”

“So goal orientated only a day into our marriage,” Wynneth said, crossing her legs in the chair. “I love it. Let me just get this makeup off first.”

She started to stand, but Jorgan placed his hand on her shoulder. “I’ve got this,” he said, walking into the bathroom. The jacuzzi tub was huge, big enough for two people. If they were planning on staying more than just the night, it might be worth getting his fur wet to try it out. Turning on the water in the sink, Jorgan used the palm of his hand to find the right temperature, before wetting a wash cloth.

When he walked out of the bathroom, Wynneth was still in the chair, but the dress was in a pile on the floor, leaving her in some sort of underwear set that Jorgan approved of completely. As he knelt in front of her, she reached out and unbuttoned the collar to his dress uniform. Jorgan rolled his neck, enjoying the freedom. “Now why didn’t I think of that?” he asked.

Wynneth simply smiled as he placed the warm washcloth on her cheek, making small circles like she had showed him once. Skin seemed like such a fuss compared to fur, but he had to admit it looked good on her. “That feels really nice,” she said, eyes closed.

Jorgan took his time, wanting to make sure every trace of makeup was off her face. “There,” he said, placing the washcloth on the table as he looked at his wife. Without the severe makeup, she looked like herself again. “All done.”

He was about to offer to brush her hair, when Wynneth slid off the chair, onto her knees next to him. As she started to unbutton his dress uniform jacket, she said, “Now let’s work on those goals.”


	10. Roots

“Winnie?” Jorgan asked, squeezing her hand. “We’re standing in the middle of the walkway. We need to move.”

He had to admit, he did enjoy being back on Rendili. The place simply had a feeling of _home._ His hometown of Gunthor was one of many cities on the planet that were almost all Cathar. It felt nice, being surrounded by his people, even if it would only be for a little while. In two days, they would say their vows in front of the Elders, and then they’d get back to Havoc Squad, ready to fight for the Republic again.

But first they had to move off the walkway so they could visit Aria, his littermate.

“What if she doesn’t like me?” Wynneth asked quietly. “You’re parents already hate me. What if she does, too?”

“She’ll like you,” Jorgan said, putting his arm around her waist. The area was busy, and more than one person had stared at them as they had walked down the street hand in hand. They were off-duty, wearing civilian clothes. Not to mention technically newlyweds. If that didn’t call for some hand holding, Jorgan didn’t know what did. Granted, he noticed more than one upset face as they walked through the streets, but that wasn’t his problem.  “She’s thrilled, really. Aria never thought I’d find someone I’d want to marry.”

“Her husband’s name is Nithor, right?” Wynneth asked. At his nod, she added, “And they haven’t named the litter yet?”

“We don’t name litters until they’re born,” Jorgan said. “Come on, you’re going to make yourself crazy about this.”

“Just wait until it’s your turn to meet my family,” Wynneth said with a slight laugh. Jorgan relaxed a bit. If she was able to laugh, she’d be fine. “Then you can have fun trying to bond with my half-brothers. Teenage boys are the worst.”

“You do realize,” he said, bumping her shoulder, “that I once was a teenage boy as well?”

“Not a human teenage boy,” Wynneth said with a grin, bumping his shoulder right back. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

They walked up the walkway to Aria’s home. It was a small house. Small enough that if she and Nithor planned on having another litter after this one, they’d need to find something roomier. But a litter of four would be a handful. One might be enough for her.

The door opened before Jorgan could even ring the bell. “Nithor!” Jorgan said, shaking his hand. Nithor’s fur was light grey. Combining that with Aria’s coloring, which was just like Jorgan’s, and he wondered what sort of litter they would create. Well, Aria was due in less than a month, so they’d find out soon enough.

“About time you made it here,” Nithor said. “It’s all Aria’s been talking about.”

Jorgan gave Wynneth a pointed look as he put his hand at the small of her back. “Wynneth, this is Nithor, Aria’s husband. Nithor, this is Wynneth,” he paused, realizing what he was about to say outside of the two of them for the first time. Pride filled his chest, “my lifemate.”

“Good to meet you,” Wynneth said as she and Nithor shook hands. Jorgan heard a hint of nerves in her voice, but she didn’t look nervous at all.

“Let’s bring you in to meet Aria. She doesn’t get up unless she has to,” Nithor said.

They followed him into the small living room. Aria sat on the couch, hand on her swollen belly. “Oh stars, you’re even prettier than the picture Aric sent me,” Aria said, patting the seat next to her. Wynneth smiled as she walked over to the couch. “So let me get this out of the way. I basically made Aric tell me every little thing about you, so I know how you like your caf and I know you own way too many hoodies. I hope this won’t make things weird. You can ask me anything you like and I will answer to try to even things out.”

Jorgan could only grin as Wynneth glared at him. “Having too many hoodies is completely subjective,” she said, sounding serious. “What’s Aric’s too many is my not enough.”

Aria laughed, linking Wynneth’s arms in hers. “You, I like. We’re keeping you.”

Jorgan headed over to the couch and leaned down, kissing his littermate on the cheek. “So you’ve got about a month left?”

“These babies can’t come out fast enough,” Aria said. “If it wasn’t for them, I would have been at your wedding. I watched the livefeed, though. That was a very,” Aria seemed to be searching for the right word, “interesting outfit they had you wear.”

“I did _not_ choose that dress,” Wynneth said at once. “Or that hat.”

“At least it’s over with, right?” Aria said. “I’ll never understand why humans spend so much money on weddings.”

“Not just humans anymore, though,” Nithor said. “That one Cathar world, where they’ve started the monarchy. They have big ceremonies now.”

Aria’s eyes narrowed. “They also say their king is the king of all Cathar. Um, no. This Cathar has no king.”

Nithor sighed. “We’re changing the subject,” he said. Jorgan chuckled while Nithor simply shook his head. “You know talking about that get you worked up, love.”

“Of course I get worked-”

“Why don’t we listen to your lifemate?” Jorgan asked, sitting down on the couch next to Wynneth. “Let’s talk about your future babies instead and how I’ll be an amazing uncle.”

Wynneth smiled, a soft smile he didn’t get to see nearly often enough, as she placed her hand on his knee. “He will be a good uncle,” she said to Aria. “He’ll make a good dad, too, when the time comes.”

The room went silent as Aria stared at him, her mouth in the shape of an O. _Here we go_ , Jorgan thought, readying himself for the million and one questions Aria would have until she was satisfied. Because that’s how she operated. Honestly, the woman could have done a better job than some SIS agents. He leaned over and said softly in Wynneth’s ear, “I hadn’t mentioned that to anyone yet.”

Aria slammed her hand down on the arm of the couch. “Wait, what? You two want to have kids?”

Poor Nithor, though, looked confused.  “Can Cathar and humans-”

“No, they can’t,” Jorgan said at once, wanting to nip that in the bud right now. Part of him wished they could somehow. He tried to imagine a kid combining his and Wynneth’s features. Probably best that that would never happen. He didn’t even want to think about how mixing skin and fur would work. “If, and that’s a big if, we decide to have kids, we’ll be adopting.”

Aria practically started bouncing up and down in her seat. “You have no idea how happy this makes me. Wynneth, I don’t know what you’ve done to him, but please never stop. Aric’s never said he wanted kids in his life. Any time someone asked, it’s always ‘blah blah blah, I’m a soldier,’” she said, clapping her hands together. “And now you want to have babies!”

“Can we keep this on the down low?” Jorgan asked. “If it happens, it’s not going to be for years. Not until I reach retirement age and that’s not for eleven years yet. I’d rather not tell Mom or Dad yet.”

Aria gave him a steady look. “How long have you known me? You know I can’t keep a secret to save my life,” she said with a sigh. “But I’ll try.”

“Appreciate it,” Jorgan said. “Look, they’re pissed enough I’m married to a human. Somehow I can’t imagine Mom and Dad being thrilled with the idea having non-Cathar grandkids.”

The corner of Aria’s mouth dipped down into a frown. “Oh right, shit, they won’t be Cathar, will they?”

“Why couldn’t they be Cathar?” Wynneth asked, squeezing his knee.

“We’re very strict on who adopts Cathar children. Mixed-species couples are automatically disqualified,” Nithor said. “If there even are any babies or kids to adopt, they usually go to same sex couples. There aren’t many infertile couples out there. We spend a lot of credits on fertility.”

“Makes sense,” Wynneth said, leaning against Jorgan a bit.

“Guess that solves that dilemma, Winnie, looks like we’re adopting a Hutt some day,” Jorgan said, glancing over at Aria. Even after thirty-four years, he still looked for approval from the leader of his litter. She had a huge smile on her face. “What?”

“You called her Winnie, that’s absolutely adorable,” Aria said, smiling broad enough to show her teeth. “I just really like seeing you in love.”

If anyone other that Aria had said that, Jorgan would probably be annoyed as all hell. He had a reputation to protect, after all. But here, with family that had accepted that his lifemate wasn’t Cathar, he could just admit he was pretty damn happy. Happier than he could ever remember. “Yeah, well, I’m not exactly opposed to the idea, as you can tell.”

“Good,” Aria said. “Now someone help me up so we can eat dinner. I’m _starving._ _”_

#

Jorgan took a breath as the temple came into view. Over the years, he couldn’t even remember how many times he had been inside. Any time his family celebrated a birth of a litter or a death of someone close, the temple was where they would go, just like other countless Cathar families. As a young man, the one thing he never thought he would do was go to the temple to bond with someone else.

And now he was here. In two days, they would walk up these steps again and say the words countless generations of Cathar had said before them. But first they needed to speak to the Elders. He had heard stories from friends who were wed, how the Elders asked questions tailored to each couple. Jorgan could only imagine what sort of questions they might ask Wynneth and him. Best not to dwell on that until he had, too.

“Whenever you mentioned the temple, I always pictured it in my head,” Wynneth said. “I guess I thought it would be… More ornate?”

The temple was plain, for lack of a better word. But it had stood for three hundred years, ever since the first Cathar refugees had found a home on Rendili. “Gunthor was one of the first cities that welcomed the Cathar,” Jorgan said. “The temple was one of the first buildings we built. Other cities were settled later. Those temples are a lot fancier. But this is ours.”

“Well, it’s where we’ll say our vows, therefore, it’s perfect,” Wynneth said. As they started to walk up the stairs, she added, “I’m trying not to be too nervous. The world ‘elder’ just sounds a bit intimidating.”

“Aria will probably be an Elder one day, so do what I do. I picture Aria as an Elder, and that helps me remember that these are real people who just want the best for us,” Jorgan said.

Wynneth nodded as they entered the temple. The stone benches were empty, as no gathering was taking place. But the three Elders were standing at the front of the temple. None wore their ceremonial robes, and just looked like everyday regular people.

“Captain, it’s good to see you again,” one of the Elders said. Yvette, if he remembered right. She had said the rites at an aunt’s funeral a few years back. He remembered her fur, a dark grey that almost looked blue. Her attention turned to Wynneth. “You must be Major Hindemith. We’ve heard a great deal about you. Aric’s father comes to the temple often for guidance.” Jorgan’s stomach clenched. That wasn’t a good sign. “Why don’t we all sit?”

“Thank you,” Wynneth said, her voice small. She sounded just as uneasy as he now felt.

Five chairs sat in a small circle. Jorgan and Wynneth sat down, facing the three elders. All looked to be around his parent’s age, maybe a little older. Yvette was clearly the leader, sitting in-between the other two. Jorgan wondered what exactly was the protocol here, if he should ask their names or introduce himself to them. But Yvette seemed content not to make introductions, so he wouldn’t press.

“Has Aric explained the purpose of this meeting?” Yvette asked.

Wynneth nodded, and Jorgan cursed that the chairs were just far enough apart that he felt separated from her. Maybe that was the point.

“Good,” Yvette said, a slight smile on her face. “As I’m sure you’ve realized, the Cathar deal with marriage a bit different than most other places in the galaxy. Do you plan to respect that?”

“I do,” Wynneth said. “I told Aric that I wouldn’t have accepted his proposal unless I planned on honoring that same commitment.”

“That’s wonderful to hear. Now, please remember with this next question, we’re not judging. We’re simply trying to make you both think, to ensure that this union is truly what you are looking for,” Yvette said, leaning back in her chair and crossing her legs. “Now, Wynneth, have you ever wished Aric was human?”

Wynneth opened her mouth than closed it again, and Jorgan felt his stomach sink. “Only once that I can remember,” she said far too quickly, as she twisted her fingers in her lap. “It was not long after we started talking about adoption, and I saw a pregnant woman and for just a split second, I wished we could have that. But we can’t, and that’s okay.”

Jorgan reached out and put his hand on her shoulder. That really wasn’t an option he had ever considered - too many kids out there need a home - but if that was something Wynneth wanted, he wouldn’t say no. He hated the thought that she might think she missed out on something she would have had if she had fallen in love with a human. “Winnie, if you want to have a baby, we can make that happen,” Jorgan said softly.

She grabbed his hand like a lifeline. “I don’t know,” she said, meeting his eye. “I truly don’t know. All I do know is I want to raise a family with you.”

“Good enough for me,” Jorgan said, the tension that had pooled in his shoulders disappearing. “We’ve got time to figure that out.”

Across the circle, Yvette smiled, as if they passed some sort of test. “Aric, I’ll ask you the same question. Do you ever wish Wynneth was Cathar?”

They were still holding hands, and Jorgan tried to imagine feeling fur instead of skin. He tried to picture what Wynneth might be like if they shared the same culture, same bloodied history. Cathar tended to err on the pessimistic side, a result of having their home torn away from them three hundred years ago, being driven almost to extinction. There were times that the weight of his people’s history bore down on him, made him bitter and angry. Not often, though. But it was always there, hiding deep underneath his skin.

Wynneth, though? She was an optimist. Always had been. Probably always would be. She want the one who convinced herself that she could somehow bring the original Havoc squad traitors in alive. Hell, she had convinced him not to kill that smug bastard, Special Agent Zane.

If she were Cathar, Jorgan doubted she’d still have that same optimistic nature, and frankly, that was one of the things he loved most about her. “No,” Jorgan answered, his voice quiet. “I haven’t.”

She gave his hand a squeeze and scooted her chair a little closer to him. Jorgan somehow managed to keep the smirk off his face, not even caring if the Elders minded.

“Thank you,” Yvette said. “Wynneth, what does your family think of your union to Aric?”

“My parents are thrilled,” she said at once. “Especially my mom. My half-brothers don’t really care. But they’re so much younger than me that we don’t really talk. We need to find a time to get out to Dantooine to visit.”

“And you’re aware that Aric’s parents don’t approve of your bond? How does that make you feel?”

“Sad, mostly,” Wynneth said, her thumb running over the back of his hand. “I don’t like the idea of being an issue.”

“You’re not an issue,” Jorgan said without hesitation.

Wynneth glanced over at him, shaking her head. “I’m an issue. I’ve accepted that, though. But we’re having dinner with them tomorrow night. So I’m hopeful,” she said. “Sad yet hopeful, if that makes any sense at all.”

Yvette nodded, a slight smile playing at the corners of her mouth. “Sad yet hopeful is very Cathar like,” she said before turning her attention to him. “What about you, Aric? How do you feel?”

Jorgan scratched the back of his head, trying to buy some time to gather his thoughts. “I’m angry, I’ll admit it,” he said. “They’ve known for years that I didn’t plan on having kids. I never planned on falling in love or finding a lifemate. But things have changed and I just wish they could be happy for me.”

“I’m working on your father, believe me,” Yvette said. “So for now we’ll take Wynneth’s idea and be hopeful that someday he’ll understand.”

The questions were more straightforward after that. Did they plan on having a home, being two soldiers? Would they combine finances or keep them separate? Questions they could easily answer and didn’t cause his stomach clench. And when the questions were done, Yvette she would be pleased to welcome them back in two days to say the vows.

“That wasn’t so bad,” Wynneth said as they walked out of the temple. “Felt a bit weird talking about our sex life with strangers, though.”

“Think of it from the Cathar angle, though. You and I will never have sex with another person for the rest of our lives,” Jorgan said, shrugging a shoulder. “Makes sense to know we’re on the same page.”

“We certainly are that,” Wynneth said with a smile. “You want to grab some lunch? I’m hungry after all that talking.”

“Yeah, there’s a restaurant I wouldn’t mind going to. It’s been years-” Jorgan’s comm started buzzing in his back pocket. “Hang on, I’m getting a priority message,” he said, brow furrowing. The only priority messages he ever received involved Havoc, and Wynneth’s comm was silent. That fact that his comm just went off and hers didn’t made zero sense. He quickly put in the passcode. “It’s from Garza.”

As Jorgan scanned the message, Wynneth checked her own comm. “I’ve got nothing. What she say?”

The message was brief. Four sentences that had the possibility to change everything. The culmination of years of training went into this message. And the timing couldn’t be worse. Jorgan looked up and met Wynneth’s eye. “I’m being offered the command of Obsidian squad.”


	11. Uptight

“Obsidian squad,” Wynneth said, proud that her voice stayed steady when she felt anything but. “That’s a good squad. A really good squad.”

She had known this would happen someday. Aric was too good of a soldier, no, too good of a _leader_ to stay her XO forever. As much as she loved the idea of them being on the same squad for years, that wasn’t how Special Forces worked. Soldiers were killed. They’re promoted. Squads change all the time. The fact that she had managed to keep Havoc together this long without any changes was impressive.

Aric deserved the chance to lead his own squad again. Being commander of Obsidian squad… He deserved that. He deserved to have his skills recognized and the part of her that wasn’t heartbroken at the idea of not being able to wake up with him every morning was so damn proud of him. The Republic would be better for it, and that was what they fought for, every single day of their lives.

She just wished it hadn’t happened two days before they said their vows.

“Looks like the commander of Obsidian squad was killed a few weeks back,” Aric said as he read through his holocom. “No XO.” He slipped his holocom into his pocket before putting his hands behind his head. “I don’t want to have this conversation out in the open. Let’s get back to the hotel.”

The streets were quiet as they walked, hand in hand. Wynneth’s mind started making contingency plans. She’d promote Elara to XO; the medic absolutely deserved the promotion. Then she’d have to find another squad member. This time, though, _she_ would make the decision. No more letting Garza throw whoever she wanted on the squad. She tried to picture their future marriage if they each had their own squad. Holocalls and messages. Trying to time out stops at Carrick station where they might be able to steal away a couple of hours alone. And if they were lucky, a week of leave a year.

It wouldn’t be the relationship they wanted, not right now, but they would find a way to make it work. Because that’s what they did. In the long run, both of them knew that an inconvenience to their personal lives meant nothing in comparison to protecting the Republic.

As Aric opened the door to their hotel room, Wynneth ran her thumb along her wedding band. A plain, simple ring made from fravisite, making it almost look white. She only wore it on her finger thanks to being on leave. Once back on duty, she would start wearing it on her necklace. Aric hadn’t worn his since their ceremony on Coruscant, but that didn’t bother her; they had different cultures and upbringings. But she liked the idea of always having her ring with her, even while wearing her armor.

Aric walked to bed and sat down on the edge. Wynneth moved to sit next to him, but he grabbed her hand, and pulled her to him, so that she stood between his legs. “I don’t know what to do here, Winnie,” he said, closing his eyes.

She interlaced their fingers, gently rubbing the palm of his hand with her thumb. There was no fur on his palms, more like a hide, leaving the area sensitive, something Wynneth liked to take advantage of. “I can’t make this decision for you, Aric,” she said softly.

“I already turned down General Vander a couple of years ago. I turn down two assignments in a row? They might not give me any more,” Aric said, taking a deep breath. “You know I love you, but I don’t want to be your XO forever.”

She thrilled at the words, like she always did when he told her he loved her, even when the situation was close to breaking her heart. She wanted them to have at least a couple of years together before this happened. “I always assumed you’d take over Havoc at some point, whenever they kick me up into an office.”

“Same,” Aric said with a grunt. He stood up, taking a couple of steps away from the bed, leaving their fingers intertwined. At least, they were until he took one step too many and Wynneth was forced to let go. “Why doesn’t this feel like a promotion? It feels more like a punishment.”

The thought had crossed her mind that it might be just that. It was exactly the sort of subtleness that Garza specialized in. The general worried about Wynneth not being able to make tough calls in the field in regards to Aric? What better way to deal with it than transfer her husband right off of her squad? “You know I’m going to support you no matter what you decide, right?” she asked, wanting nothing more than to reach out for him. But somehow, that didn’t feel right. This was a decision that Aric had to make on his own.

“I know,” Aric said with a nod. “I want you to tell me to take it and I want you to tell me to stay. I don’t know what I want,” he said. The indecision in his voice almost hurt. Aric wasn’t prone to indecision. He was a man who knew what he wanted and went for it. It was one of the reasons she loved him so much. “Taking it would be the right move for my career.”

Wynneth sat down on the edge of the bed, folding her hands in her lap. No sense lying about that. “It would be,” she said, her voice small.

“Funny. Before we got together, I wouldn’t have even hesitated. One of the reasons none of my relationships ever worked out. My career always came first,” Aric said. He turned towards her, and intensity on his face that Wynneth couldn’t quite read. “But it’s more than just me now.”

She let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. Aric walked up to her, and then, his hands on her neck, kissed her. Wynneth let herself get lost in the kiss, enjoying the slight roughness of his tongue and the way the tips of his claws pricked into her skin. The kiss ended, and Wynneth grabbed onto the hem of his shirt, not wanting him to step away. “So this means?” she asked.

Resting his brow against hers, Aric answered, “I’m staying right here as your XO. If that means I don’t get another promotion, so be it. I’ll still be doing _exactly_ what I want to do: protecting the Republic.”

A strange combination of relief and sadness coursed through her. She tugged Aric’s hand, silently asking him to sit next to her. He did at once, his arm around her shoulder. “I almost feel like I should make you take the command. You’ve given up so much for me.” And he had. Between the rift with his parents and turning down not just one but two assignments, he had gone through so much.

Wynneth tried to keep her body relaxed as Aric held her tighter. “Told you before, I’m never giving you up, Winnie,” he said, nuzzling her cheek. Her eyes closed as his fur slightly tickled her skin. “If that means I need to make some choices, that’s the way it is. Besides, I hated sleeping alone that night you were in medical. I’m not ready to sleep solo again.”

“Here here,” Wynneth said. “They’re not going to give you a choice some day. They’ll give you that shiny new promotion and a squad of your own and expect you to thank them for it.”

“We’ll deal with that when it happens,” Aric said, kissing her temple. “Let’s not invite trouble yet.” He let her go and took out his holocom. “Come on. Let’s figure out exactly how to tell Garza to go to hell. Politely, of course.”

#

Funny how the thought of meeting Aric’s parents didn’t worry Wynneth at all. She had wondered if the same nerves she felt yesterday, meeting Aric’s littermate, would reappear tonight. But she felt fine. Not a single nerve in sight. Probably because she didn’t have any false expectations. His parents didn’t approve of her. They didn’t approve of Aric marrying her. One dinner was not going to change that, which led to a surprising calm.

Aric, on the other hand, was a mess. “We should have done this after the ceremony tomorrow,” he said as they walked down the street. The area where Aric grew up felt very safe. Protected, almost. Very different from the childhood she had on Nar Shaddaa. This would be the type of place they could raise children some day.

Her hands were full, carrying a quinto plant as a gift for his parents, or else Wynneth would take his hand now. “It’s going to be okay,” she said. “They’re letting us visit, right? That’s a good sign.”

His only response was a grunt, so Wynneth stayed silent as they continued to walk. She had to admit she was enjoying walking everywhere as opposed to taking a speeder. Too bad once their leave ended, they would never truly have time to walk any more.

“Here it is,” Aric said, stopping in front of a small wooden house. In front of the house were raised vegetable gardens, growing all sorts of different vegetables. “This is where I grew up.”

Wynneth took in the scene, trying to picture a young Aric living here. Since they were together, he had shown her a couple of holos of his youth, but not nearly enough to satisfy her curiosity. She wondered if his parents would be willing to share any. Goodness knew her own mother would probably throw as many holos of Wynneth as a kid that Aric wanted. “I like it.”

“Good,” Aric said. Then taking a deep breath, he added, “Let’s get this over with.”

As they walked up to the front door, Wynneth noticed it was open. Her first instinct was to reach for a blaster, but her neither one of them were armed, not for a visit home. “Should we worry?” she asked.

Aric visibly relaxed as he took in the door. “That’s a good sign,” he said. “You leave the door open for family so they can let themselves in. My home is your home sort of thing.”

“Hell of a security risk,” Wynneth said in a low voice, even though the gesture warmed her heart. Perhaps there was hope.

Aric motioned for her to enter the house first. Taking a deep breath, she walked inside. The living room was a warm light brown color with bright blue furniture. And sitting on either end of the sofa, were Aric’s parents. Wynneth had met them once before, after the Gauntlet mission. Aric had stayed with his parents while he healed from his injuries, and she had taken advantage of her leave time to visit. They had welcomed her then, his mother going as far as sharing a couple of stories about Aric when he was young. Tonight felt very, very different.

Wynneth slipped off her shoes and walked inside the living room. “Thank you for welcoming me into your home,” she said, holding out the plant to Hetta. It was more than decorative; the leaves could be used in stews or salads. A practical hostess gift for a woman who raised a practical son.

Hetta stood and nodded, taking the plant from Wynneth’s hands. Without another word, she walked off into the kitchen. Wynneth turned to Togath, Aric’s father. “It’s good to see you again,” she said.

Togath’s face was a mask. Wynneth debated whether or not to say anything else - what could she even say at this point? - when Aric stood next to her. “Dad,” Aric said, “we spoke to the Elders yesterday. Yvette mentioned you.” Wynneth bit her bottom lip. _Really, Aric?_ Somehow this didn’t seem like the best time to bring this up. “Thanks for having us over for dinner.”

Togath nodded once, and without looking at either of them, stood up and walked into the kitchen. Leaning over to Aric, she asked in a quiet voice, “Good or bad so far?”

“Not great,” Aric said, his jaw clenched.

A few minutes of silence passed, and since Aric didn’t seem to want to talk, Wynneth went over to a bookshelf where framed pictures stood. There was one of Aric, he must have been just eighteen, standing next to his mother. Aric wore a Republic cadet uniform while Hetta wore a basic service uniform. “She worked administration for the main Republic base here on Rendili,” Aric said over Wynneth’s shoulder. “She never really saw any action, not even during the war. But the post let her have a family.”

“She still served,” Wynneth said. The army needed administrators just as much as they needed soldiers.

“True,” Aric said.

“Dinner is ready,” Togath called out from the kitchen.

Wynneth followed Aric into a small alcove off of the kitchen. The table was already set, bowls at every place setting. The only utensil was a piece of metal, longer than a standard dinner knife, with what looked like a combination spoon and fork at the end. Wynneth wasn’t the most graceful eating with the utensil, but she would do her best.

“The table looks lovely,” Wynneth said, desperate for something to talk about to end the silence. At least what she said was true. A long table runner crossed over the table, dark green with specks of gold woven in. The bowels were all a stone color ceramic, edged with more gold. The effect was really quite nice. Not something she’d ever be able to pull off in a million years.

Aric had warned her that his parents would say a prayer of thanks before they ate. While she wasn’t one for mealtime rituals, she understood that it gave some people comfort. So after they were all seated, Wynneth bowed her head with hands in her lap as Hetta spoke words in Catharese. For the trip to Rendili, Wynneth had her translator turned off, wanting to work on her language skills. Her Catharese was awful still, and she could barely understand a single word Aric’s mother said.

Tension seemed to surround the table as bowls of foods were passed around. Mostly meats, with only one bowl of grain. Wynneth thought back to her mother’s tables for holidays and visits, when she’d make these biscuits… According to Aric, the Cathar didn’t have bread with any of their meals, which was just about the saddest thing that Wynneth had ever heard.

The meal started in silence; everyone seemed content not to speak. Wynneth picked up her utensil and speared a bite of meat. She had no idea what sort of meat it was, but that didn’t matter. Everything on her plate would be eaten, or she’d die trying.

Wynneth’s plate was half empty when Togath said something to Aric in Catharese. Now she wished she had her translator, especially when Aric answered in a somewhat heated voice. Deciding to keep eating, Wynneth stared at her plate as Aric and his parents kept talking in Catharese, and she could only pick up a word or two. That settled it. Once their leave ended, she would do whatever she could to become fluent in the language herself, so she could understand everything.

Hetta seemed content to stare at her plate while Aric and Togath continued arguing. Finally, a silence settled over the table. Wynneth kept eating, debating whether or not to compliment the food. But the tension felt like a vice on the table, so she decided not to say a work.

Once everyone’s plate was empty, Aric stood up. Wynneth had seen this face before when he ranted about Vik or the Imperials. It was not a good face. She simply hunched her shoulders a bit, trying to make herself as small as possible. “Wynneth,” he said, his voice controlled. It felt strange to hear her say her first name like that. When they were alone, he always called her Winnie. In front of the squad, she was Major. She could count on one hand how many times he had called her Wynneth since they met. “It’s best if we leave now.”

“Oh,” Wynneth said, the only thing she could think of. This was bad, this was very, very bad. She stood and took a few steps so she was right next to Aric. He put a bit of pressure on the small of her back, and together, they bowed slightly at the waist.

Aric’s hand stayed on her back as they walked out of the house. Wynneth wanted to ask what happened, what had been said, but she stayed silent. He would tell her when she was ready. They walked two blocks before they passed an alleyway. “In here,” he said, his voice strained. “I need a minute.”

Wynneth leaned back against a brick wall, wishing she had a hoodie. The nights on Rendili cooled considerably. “Do I want to know what was said?” she asked.

“No,” he said at once, resting his shoulder against the wall, close enough to her that there was no space between them. “You have no idea how badly I want to kiss you right now.”

“Damn traditions,” Wynneth said, trying to keep her voice light. There was to be no sexual activity the day before their vows. They wouldn’t even sleep in the same bed tonight; Aric already moved his things into a separate hotel room. Once they made it back to the hotel, she wouldn’t see him until she arrived at the temple tomorrow.

“Yeah,” he said softly, resting his brow against hers.

“You okay?” she asked.

Aric seemed to think about the answer before he spoke. “I’ve got you,” he said finally. “So, yeah. I’m okay. You okay?”

Wynneth smile softly and repeated his words back to him. “I’ve got you.”

And after tomorrow they’d have each other for the rest of their lives. She couldn’t wait.


	12. Look How Far we've Come

Wynneth brushed her hair, still not quite believing the difference between preparations for this ceremony and the last one. On Coruscant, the entire day had been bound to a schedule. She had arrived at a spa at eight o’clock in the morning and every minute counted. The entire morning and afternoon had been spent making her look like Saresh’s vision. A vision Wynneth didn’t appreciate at all. She hadn’t felt like herself that day, almost as if Aric had been marrying a stranger.

This morning, though, she was alone, just her and her thoughts. The solitude was appreciated after so much time around other people. She loved Aric, more than anything, but even she didn’t want to be next to him every minute of every day. Thinking back, this was the longest time they’ve been apart since the night she spent in the Republic medical facility to fix her leg.

She finished putting up her hair, in a slightly more elaborate bun than usual - with her plain robe, she needed _something_ to mark the occasion - and looked in the mirror. Her scars stood out; they always had. But Wynneth had made peace with them long ago. When Vara suggested they get makeup to cover them for the wedding, Wynneth fought hard against it. If she didn’t mind them, why should anyone else?

On the bed lay the robe she had ordered for the ceremony. It was a traditional robe, worn by the Palelo. While all Cathar said the same vows, different cultures wore different outfits to their vows. The Palelo wore this, a linen robe in whatever color the couple chose. Aric had pushed for Havoc orange, but they wouldn’t be part of Havoc forever. Finally they decided on a dark brown that complimented both of their coloring. Aria, thank goodness, had showed her how to make it sit right on her hips and tie the sash around her waist when they had visited the other night.

Because she wasn’t surrounded by a hair stylist, a makeup artist, and three members of Vara’s team while she dressed, Wynneth could just let her mind wander. Strange to think that they’ve technically been married for almost a week now, yet today was the day that truly felt like the real thing. Even the quick ceremony on the _Thunderclap_ felt like a warm up compared to tnow.

She had the vows memorized; no repeating another’s words today. Today Wynneth would make sure her voice was loud and clear as she bonded with Aric, until death.

#

Aric had warned her to expect stares as she walked to the temple. Some would be upset seeing her wear a cultural outfit, not knowing she was on her way to say the vows. Some would think her ridiculous, like she wore the outfit simply for fashion’s sake. And some would hopefully realize that today was her wedding day, and wish her well.

It had rained the night before, and Wynneth had to lift up the hem of the robe so not to get it wet. That would be the last thing she needed. As she walked, she saw a mixture of people staring at her. Most seemed content to smile or roll their eyes, though she did see a few angry faces.

But what she was overcome with an absolute sense of freedom. The Cathar walked to their temple alone to say the vows, to prove that each person went of their own free will. If she wanted, Wynneth could walk away and not feel the least amount of pressure from anyone. Compare that to Coruscant and dealing with Vara, responsible for Saresh’s vision. She wouldn’t have been able to change her mind at all, not with all of those people around her, not even if she desperately wanted to.

Luckily, she had absolutely no intention on changing her mind.

Up ahead, Wynneth could see the top of the temple. In another block or so, she would be able to see the stairs. If they had timed things right, Aric should reach the temple around the same time; they walked different routes from the hotel. She lifted her chin, so pleased that the sun shone today. On Coruscant, the weather had been overcast, threatening to rain, which would have ruined all of Vara’s plans.

She crossed the street, and there stood Aric at the bottom of the steps leading to the temple. The robe’s dark brown color looked wonderful against the color of his fur. He really needed to wear that color more often. His back was towards her as she approached, his head bowed slightly. Wynneth wondered if he was praying. She knew he wasn’t a particularly religious man - both of them had seen too much death on the battlefield to believe in anything other than vengeful gods - but he did occasionally reach out to a higher power. She wished she could find the comfort in prayer that he did.

“Here I am,” Wynneth said just loud enough to catch his attention.

Aric turned and stood next to her in just a few steps. For a moment, she thought he was about to kiss her, but instead he placed his hand on her cheeks, resting his brow against hers. Closing her eyes, Wynneth breathed in deeply, wrapping her hands around his wrists and giving herself a moment to simply be. At this very moment, she had no responsibilities, no datawork that desperately needed to be completed, no mission that needed Havoc’s special attention. She was just a woman standing next to the love of her life, ready to pledge herself to him. That it would be for the third time in a week didn’t make it any less special.

“Here you are,” Aric said quietly, not letting her go. “Got here too early. Think I walked too fast.”

“Sorry to make you wait,” Wynneth said, sliding her hands up to entwine their fingers together. She looked up at the temple, which looked exactly like it did two days ago. Then she thought it plain, but now she couldn’t imagine saying the vows anywhere else. “So we just walk inside?”

Aric nodded. “The Elders should have everything set up.”

Wynneth took his hand and together they walked up the steps to the temple double doors. At the same time, they both opened a door and walked inside the foyer. Like Aric said, the Elders had everything waiting, and on a small wood table, lay the scared cloth they would put on each other’s head. She had asked what made them scared, why they were so special. Aric told her that they were woven from a type of cotton plant that originally grew on Cathar. Three hundred years ago, even as their homeworld was being destroyed around them, someone had the foresight to save as many seeds from Cathar as they could. Any time the Cathar tried to make a home on a new planet, they brought this plant with them.

She and Aric wouldn’t keep these head coverings; they belonged to the temple and were reused until they were threadbare. Another way for the Cathar to feel connected to each other, even if only a little. “Ready?” Aric asked, his voice soft. Nodding, Wynneth closed her eyes as Aric placed the natural colored cloth on her head, then arranging it around her shoulders. He cleared his throat, and she looked up, seeing a hint of wetness around his eyes. “Looks good on you.”

With a smile, Wynneth reached out to pick up the other cloth. Slightly rough to the touch, but still looked to be in good condition. The cloth felt almost heavy, as if history had been woven in the threads. As she raised her arms, Aric bowed his head, his eyes closed. Once she had arranged the fabric to her liking, she said, “There we go.”

Raising his head, Aric let out a low whistle. “Never thought I’d end up with this on my head.”

She bumped his shoulder with her own. “Looks good on you, too.” He smiled slightly, then. A smile she never would be able to see enough of, not even if they lived a hundred years. “Ready?” she asked.

His hand found hers, and they opened the foyer doors, walking into the temple. Thanks to the windows, sun was streaming through, giving the room a bright, cheerful look. One window was open, letting in a slight breeze, plus the sound of birds chirping by a nearby tree. The room was circular, with two doors facing each other, leading to other rooms. The stone benches were arranged in rows of circles, with the center empty, except for the Elders. Ahead of them, the three Elders stood, Yvette in the middle, all wearing midnight blue ceremonial robes. The robes were fairly plain, like hers and Aric’s, but had an elegant Catharese script embroidered in gold around the hem. Wynneth would have to remember to ask Aric what was written.

“Welcome,” Yvette said, her voice clear. Wynneth gave Aric a glance, wondering if they were supposed to respond. He simply nodded his head at Yvette, so she followed his example. Once they stood in front of the Elders, Yvette asked, “I ask this now, before we start. If either one of you are here against your will, please speak.”

Her instinct was to say that of course she wasn’t, but tradition demanded she stay silent.

“Do either one of you have doubts about this union? Once the words are spoken, they can never be unsaid. If either of you are unsure, please speak.” Almost a minute passed, sixty seconds of wanting to tell everyone that she was sure, but somehow Wynneth held her tongue.

“Let it be known that the two in front of me are here because they choose to be and that there are no doubts,” Yvette said. “Aric, Wynneth, let’s begin. Please face each other.”

Wynneth found herself smiling, a smile that she didn’t think would leave her face if she wanted. Even though if any of the ceremony might go wrong, it would be this first part, she continued to smile. And across from her, his green eyes bright, Aric smiled, too.

“Normally, it is the dominant palm that is used,” Yvette said. “But we understand the realities of your lives, and of the good you do, protecting the Republic. We would not wish to jeopardize that in the slightest. So Wynneth, please hold out your non-dominant hand.”

Her left hand didn’t shake in the slightest as she held it out towards Aric. She bit her lower lip as Aric unsheathed the claws of his hand. Even after knowing Aric for three years, Wynneth always found herself with mixed emotions when she saw his claws. In the beginning, she’d admit, she feared them, even though they never once were used in her direction. Now, though, she mostly saw them in the bedroom, either thanks to sex or for social grooming. His claws gave her comfort, more than anything else.

But now, they would be used to draw blood. Her blood.

Aric dragged his claw down the fleshy part of her palm quickly, deep enough to cut the skin. The cut wasn’t deep, but blood started to pool at once. Her palm stung, but it was a type of pain she’d dealt with before. Wynneth met Aric’s eyes then, and he mouthed, “You okay?” She nodded at once, not wanting to worry him.

“Aric, please hold out your non-dominate hand.”

Wynneth reached into the pocket of her robe - how thrilled she was when she realized they could order robes with pockets! - and took out the miniature dagger she and Aric found for the ceremony. As a weapon, the dagger was a joke. It wouldn’t hurt anyone. But it would be able to cut Aric’s palm just enough to do the job, as her human fingernails would never work.

She held the dagger in her right hand, his hand in her left. Her hand was still bleeding, so there would be blood in his fur, but not much she could do about that now. As carefully as she could, Wynneth cut his palm with the dagger, before sheathing and placing it back in her pocket. Searching his face, she looked for pain or some sign of discomfort, but all she saw was calm.

“Please join hands,” Yvette said.

Their hands were at shoulder level, palms flat against the other’s while their fingers were entwined. Wynneth’s breath quickened, more alert thanks to the dull pain in her palm, thinking of the words they were about to say.

No Cathar knew when these words were spoken for the first time. Hundreds of years before the Mandalorians destroyed the Cathar homeworld, leaving the Cathar people to fight for a home. But even scattered around the galaxy, when any Cathar wished to bond, these were the words spoken.

“Whenever you’re ready, you may begin.”

Aric dipped his chin, their planned signal to start. “I will be your protector, you will be mine,” they said in unison. “I will honor you above all others as you will honor me.” Wynneth realized she blinked back tears but she could wipe them once the remaining words were spoken. “We are now joined for eternity. Even death cannot end our bond.”

And then silence overtook the temple. For that moment, she and Aric were the only two people in the galaxy. The Elders, even less than a meter away, could have been on an entirely different planet as far as she knew. All Wynneth could hear was the sound of her and Aric breathing. The scent of their blood lifted up even as the warmth of the blood trickled down her wrist.

Without thinking, Wynneth stepped forward, wrapping her arms around Aric’s neck, pressing her cheek against his. They never discussed how the ceremony actually ended. Perhaps what she just did was wrong, but as she felt Aric hold her to him tight, his arms around her waist, she didn’t care. As special as the impromptu ceremony on the _Thunderclap_ had been, right now it all seemed like a rehearsal to get to this very moment.

The moment she and Aric truly bonded. She was his. He was hers. Forever.

“Let it be known that as of now, Aric Jorgan and Wynneth Hindemith are lifemates. May that knowledge comfort and guide you for the rest of your lives,” Yvette said, putting a hand on each of their shoulders. “Go out and embrace this day and then later, each other.”

A few minutes passed as she and Aric gave their thanks to the Elders, along with a contribution to the temple. Yvette carefully took the sacred cloths off their heads, not willing to risk getting any blood on them, understandably. Wynneth had to keep herself from wiping off the blood on her palm off onto her robe. The last thing she wanted was to leave a stain.

But soon, she and Aric walked outside into the sun, hand and hand.

“Feel any different?” Wynneth asked as they started to walk back to the hotel. A few people stared, and just like her earlier walk, she saw smiling faces, and faces full of anger. She concentrated on the smiling faces, determined not to let anything ruin the day.

“Dunno,” Aric said, his voice thoughtful. “Maybe a little. Still might be too early to tell, though.”

Compared to all the human weddings Wynneth had gone to in her life, to have the ceremony over and done in less than fifteen minutes seemed a bit odd. But at the same time, it meant that she and Aric had the rest of the day to simply spend together, to start off their marriage with just the two of them. No worrying about guests or parties or wedding planners. Just the two of them.

“So what do you want to do after we get back to the hotel?” Aric asked. “Besides the obvious, of course.”

Wynneth let out a laugh. “Who said the obvious can’t take all day?” Though as tempting as the idea was, lounging around in bed all day wasn’t either of their idea of a good time. After a while, she’d get antsy, no doubt. “Got any ideas?”

“Maybe a run? I know a couple of parks not too far from here,” Aric said.

She smiled, thinking of their last run. “Seem to remember we got in trouble last time we went on a run,” Wynneth said, squeezing his hand. She tried to picture the last couple of weeks if they hadn’t been caught by the press. Would they have been married by now? Or content as they continued to wait for life to line up just right?

“True enough,” Aric said. “But that was before.”

Before. Before there was no doubt that she and Aric could handle orders leading to the other’s death. Before political machinations tried to claim their marriage for their own gain. Before they bled together and said their vows. Before seemed very far away somehow, because really, all Wynneth cared about was _now._

Wynneth looked up and met Aric’s eye, reveling in the smile on his face. She lifted their joined hands, kissing the back of his hand and said, “Let’s go on a run.”


	13. Epilogue

“How is it fair that we had three weddings, but no honeymoon?” Wynneth asked from their bed.

Jorgan smiled, picking up the new addition to the workstation, a frame with three pictures. On one side, was their official wedding portrait from the ceremony on Coruscant. On the other, a holo of the two of them in their Cathar robes in front of the temple. And in between, an actual paper copy of Form 5763W. He had insisted on the expense when they talked about holos to display. Something about seeing the actual form made everything real.

“Least we got a couple of days away from everything,” Jorgan said, putting down the frame. He turned and looked at his lifemate. “Everything I’m reading says that Makeb is a great planet to visit, at least. Big tourism industry. Got to imagine we’ll find some time just for us.”

Wynneth propped herself up on an elbow, pushing her hair out of her face. “A day for R and R after the mission is over wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world.”

“Now you’re talking,” Jorgan said, walking over to the bed. The call from Saresh had come just one day after their ceremony on Rendili. Between this new mission and Garza’s promotion offer, he was fairly certain the galaxy was conspiring against him and his bride. Good to be back on the _Thunderclap,_ though. After all was said and done, this ship was their _home._

He sat down next to Wynneth, his hand sliding up her bare arm and over her shoulder. There, underneath the strap of her tank top, was her bond mark. “You ready for another round?” he asked softly.

Cathar tradition had a newly bonded couple mark each other’s hide, or skin, in Wynneth’s case. Jorgan had explained it to her as a wedding ring only the two of them would see. He hadn’t been sure she would want to - she had no decorative markings like so many humans - but she had agreed at once. Wynneth smiled, placing a hand on his thigh. “You’re about to take off your shirt. Of course I’m ready.”

“Woman,” he said, leaning down to give her a kiss. Just a brief one. “We’ve got a mission to prep after this.” Straightening up, Jorgan took off his shirt and threw it to the floor, trying to hide a grin as Wynneth stared at his chest. How did she always manage to make him feel about ten feet tall?

Running the palm of her hand up his chest, Wynneth said, “We can prep later, you know. Maybe I’m trying to make up for not having a honeymoon.”

“We’ll get that vacation someday,” Jorgan said, pulling Wynneth up into a sitting position. “Sooner, rather than later if I have anything to say about it.”

Wynneth reached out for the dagger she had used at the temple ceremony. “I haven’t hurt you yet, right?” she asked as she settled behind him, legs straddling his hips.

His instinct again was to keep the worst from her, tell her of course she hadn’t hurt him. Better to go with as close to the truth as possible. “Nothing I can’t handle,” he said, squeezing her knee.

“ _Hmph._ I happen to know you can handle a lot, mister. Too much pressure?” she asked.

Jorgan kept still as the tip of the dagger touched his shoulder. His mark wouldn’t really be seen under his fur, but just knowing that it was there gave him a quiet satisfaction he still couldn’t really explain. Ten years ago, his younger self would have shook his head at that feeling, of the idea that anything other than a sniper rifle and a target could make him content. But Wynneth changed everything. All for the better.

“Not so deep this time,” he said with a nod of the head, bracing himself for the slight pain on the way.

One thing he had to give Wynneth credit for was being a quick learner. Jorgan felt the knife pierce his hide and this time, he barely felt anything. “Not as much blood this time,” she said. Jorgan exhaled deeply as she patted his shoulder with a towel, then covered the mark with a small bandage. The brief pain was worth it for a mark that would last the rest of their lives.

“Your turn,” he said. The two of them quickly changed places, with Jorgan taking a moment to pull Wynneth flush against him. Pressing his nose to her shoulder, he breathed in deeply, reveling in just how clean she smelled, thanks to her earlier shower.

“Aric?” she asked, covering his hands with hers.

“Just taking my time,” Jorgan said, kissing the small, angry looking, red mark on her shoulder. “Only three more nights of this after tonight, you know.”

She sighed, one of contentment, and seemed to lean back against him even more. “I know,” she said. “Good thing we’ll be done before reach Make.”

“True,” Jorgan said as he extended his claws.

Wynneth took in a sharp breath, which he considered his cue. As carefully as he could, Jorgan traced the mark he had made yesterday and the day before, breaking open the skin. A small amount of blood pooled, but not nearly as much as the first time. Not for the first time, he thought the color of her blood was beautiful. Cathar blood, a muddy brown color, was nothing compared to human blood.

Taking the towel from Wynneth, he blotted the mark twice, while whispering a quick prayer of thanks under his breath. He wasn’t particularly a religious man, but he did give thanks to whoever was running this universe, whether it be the Force or some other being, that Wynneth came into his life. Whenever he tried to think of his life without her, Jorgan didn’t particularly like the results. But that didn’t matter now, because they were both here and had each other.

“Don’t even think you’ll need a bandage tomorrow,” Jorgan said. Wynneth handed him one anyway and he gently placed it over the mark.

She rested against him, then, entwining their fingers together. “Wanna open some more presents?” she asked, and he could hear the smile in her voice.

“I will never understand human weddings,” Jorgan said, kissing her temple. “We get married, so people buy us things?”

Wynneth jumped up, stretching her arms over her head. “It’s a bit archaic, really. The idea used to be most newlyweds were young and needed help setting up their house.”

“If they’re not ready to live on their own, maybe they shouldn’t be getting married,” Jorgan said, leaning back, resting his hands on the bed. “But let’s see what we’ve got.”

Most everything they had received so far would be going into their storage unit on Coruscant. Though a few things - like a case of Corellian whiskey from the Deadeyes, or a box of cigars from Jonas Balkar - they’d put to good use at some point.

“Hey, this is from my parents,” Wynneth said, picking up a box. “They didn’t tell me they were sending us anything.” She brought the box, which Jorgan was ninety-nine percent sure it was a bottle of wine, back to the bed. She sat next to him, bumping her shoulder next to his. “Wine?”

“It’s definitely wine,” Jorgan said, putting his arm around her shoulder.

A small smile crossed her face as she opened the box, which did have a bottle of wine. “I sort of wondered if they’d send this,” she said, handing him the bottle. The label was nothing special, just proclaiming the year of the vintage. “Dantooine tradition.”

“Yeah?” Jorgan asked, finding himself curious. “How so?”

She took the bottle back from him. “The idea is that we save one bottle of wine for our tenth wedding anniversary. Well, tenth anniversary or some other big, life changing event.”

Jorgan’s heart decided to speed up a bit at the thought. “Like when we start a family?” he asked. A week ago he would have said adoption, but he wanted to keep the door open, in case Wynneth decided she did want to give birth one day.

“How ‘bout this? We drink this on our ten year anniversary or when we sign the papers for our first adoption,” Wynneth said, with no hesitation in her voice. Apparently adoption had won out at the moment.

“I’ve got it all planned, you know,” Jorgan said.

Wynneth set the bottle of wine down on the bed, then moved to face him, straddling his lap. Jorgan rested his hand comfortably on her ass as she said, “Don’t keep me in suspense.”

They hadn’t really ever talked about the particulars before. But Jorgan had thought about them, ever since he proposed. “I’ll hit retirement age three years before you. So once I can retire, I will. I won’t be fully vested into the pension system, but credit wise, we could live on your pension without any issue.”

“I thought we were talking kids, not pensions,” Wynneth said with a laugh, resting her arms on his shoulders.

“One day,” Jorgan said, shaking his head, “I will teach you the value of patience. I’m getting there. Promise. So I’ll retire, and we’ll adopt. Then once you hit retirement age, you can either keep working if you want, or retire, too. However you want it.”

Strange to think the idea of being a stay at home dad, teaching his kids about the values of the Republic, seemed like a good way to end a career. And if they could raise a couple of soldiers, even better. But of course, their kids didn’t have to be soldiers. Might not want to compete with their mom and dad. But the Republic needed other professions, too. Doctors and lawyers, and even entertainers. They’d teach their kids that they could do whatever they wanted in this life.

“So you, me, and a litter of runts, huh?” Wynneth asked before leaning forward and pressing her lips to his. “Sounds just about perfect.”

Jorgan couldn’t help but agree.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I would love to know what you think! :D


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